China’s shipments of hi-tech goods to the European Union went into overdrive last month, coinciding with a big drop in exports of the same goods to the US, suggesting that the superpower trade and tech wars could be affecting trade with Europe.
Calculations based on recently published Chinese trade data showed that China in May exported huge amounts of batteries, laptops, smartphones and solar panels to the 27-member bloc, sending import numbers for some countries to unprecedented levels.
China’s exports to Estonia soared 79.4 per cent in May compared to last year, and for Cyprus the number was 70.5 per cent, with 46.7 per cent in Bulgaria and 42 per cent in Hungary.
The boom continued in bigger EU markets as France’s imports shot up 24.2 per cent, Germany’s 21.72 per cent and Sweden’s 20.4 per cent.
With many EU markets enduring falling exports to China, the cumulative impact was a 22 per cent increase in the union’s trade deficit with the world’s second-largest economy in May.
It came as Brussels grows increasingly frustrated with Beijing’s refusal to take action on many trade grievances ahead of a leaders’ summit next month.
