Europe’s green transition will be impossible without China, the Dutch trade minister has warned, as the EU tries to untangle some of its economic dependence on the Asian powerhouse. Western economies face the dilemma of reducing their reliance on Chinese supply chains while overseeing a rise in domestic demand for clean technology such as solar power and car batteries, an industry dominated by companies based in China. While the US is decoupling from China, Europe has so far proceeded with more caution, as its economy is more dependent on Asia and is already reeling from the bloc’s stop on energy and raw materials imports from Russia following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“They are doing a lot on [research and development] and it would really be a shame if we decoupled fully from China,” Liesje Schreinemacher told the Financial Times. The minister said the Netherlands had a “strong trade relationship with China” and that “we need each other when it comes to making our economies more sustainable and the green transition”.
The G7 leaders of the world’s largest economies last week agreed to “de-risk” their relationship with China by seeking to import more critical raw materials from other sources and by building domestic clean tech industries.