French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin signaled openness to Chinese investment on Wednesday, floating a détente with Beijing as the EU grapples with trade tensions with Washington, reports 24brussels.
Speaking at a Paris business forum, Saint-Martin supported the idea of closer economic ties with Beijing but emphasized that investments must be sector-specific, linked to technology transfers, and involve joint ventures.
“There is a road ahead […] we are not there yet, but I believe it is entirely desirable for both parties,” he stated, advocating for “open markets and cross-investment” while cautioning that Europe “can’t keep playing by the old rules” as trade evolves into an “instrument of power.”
The minister maintained that a new European strategy should be both “defensive” — safeguarding key sectors and addressing unfair trade practices such as subsidies — and “offensive,” aimed at “new markets and diversification abroad.”
China’s ambassador to France, Deng Li, echoed these sentiments during the same panel, urging Beijing and Brussels to “work together to defend free trade and multilateralism.” He suggested both sides share an interest in “promoting multilateralism and resisting inward-looking tendencies.”
Mixed record
The warmer rhetoric emerges against the backdrop of ongoing trade tensions.
Paris has strongly supported the EU’s hefty tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles enacted last year. In retaliation, Beijing imposed duties up to 34.9% on European brandy from July — a move that, despite Paris’ intensive diplomatic efforts to prevent it, adversely affected French Cognac and Armagnac producers while exempting major brands that agreed to raise prices.
Simultaneously, France’s stance on China starkly contrasts its dissatisfaction with Brussels’ recent tariff agreement with Washington, which limits levies on European products to 15% alongside other concessions. Prime Minister François Bayrou condemned the deal as “submission,” while EU Affairs Minister Benjamin Haddad called on the bloc to ready its new Anti-Coercion Instrument, dubbed the “trade bazooka,” aimed at restricting US service providers’ access to the EU market.
Saint-Martin further remarked that Europe is “doing relatively better” than some neighbors under the new US trade framework, but noted that “something better” could have been achieved with a different negotiation strategy.
In an interview, he warned that the world is now in “permanent negotiation mode,” adding that even after a deal with the US, the EU “must keep up the pressure.”
*Alice Bergoënd contributed reporting
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