Towards a New Global Balance: Supply Chain & Logistics Challenges in EU-China Trade

For decades, China has been the "factory of the world" not only for mass consumer products but also for machinery, raw materials, electronics, chemicals, and steel. More recently, the European Union has also seen a growing influx of cheap e-commerce items, electric vehicles, EV batteries, solar panels, etc. However, against the backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, an increasing number of European nations are now voicing concerns about how much their supply chains depend on the world's second largest economy.

Some politicians wish to impose trade barriers such as higher import tariffs while others want to restrict the export of semiconductors and other critical Western technologies to China. In addition, new sustainability and compliance measures such as the EU Supply Chain Act or the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism for goods with a high carbon content, further complicate matters. Beijing opposes this "unfair protectionism" and warns that it may lead to long term trade wars and a significant disruption of the world economy.

As a result, companies in the Benelux are forced to "rethink" and "de-risk" their supply chain networks and need to decide in how far they wish to remain invested in China. Balanced guidance on the topic is hard to find.

In this exclusive after-work seminar, a number of top EU-China trade professionals from both sides of the globe will share their most recent views and insights, followed by Q&A and informal group discussion.