This was despite a surge in Chinese exports to the European Union coinciding with a big drop in shipments from China to the United States in May.
China’s shipments to the US last month fell by 34.5 per cent from a year ago, while its exports to France rose by 24.1 per cent and to Germany by 21.5 per cent, according to calculations based on Chinese customs data that was released on Monday.
“On the basis of the very first set of results, it’s not possible to draw any conclusions … because it’s too early to conclude whether there is trade diversion,” an EU official, one of several who were authorised to brief journalists on an anonymous basis, explained.
“You need a bit of a trend to be observed to conclude whether that’s the case or not – and we’re not there yet. We need a few more reports for establishing a trend and, secondly, the question of whether this is causing harm for EU industry.”
