Weekend Long Read: Europe Must Get Tougher With China to Avoid a Trade Backlash, Former WTO Chief Says

Pascal Lamy, the former head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has warned that Europe must take a firmer stance on China’s growing export surplus or risk an industrial and political backlash that could fundamentally damage relations between the two economies.

A longstanding advocate of free trade, Lamy said he had reluctantly concluded that the scale and speed of Chinese exports into Europe had become unsustainable. He called for a negotiated arrangement to moderate the flow of goods, backed by the credible threat of trade restrictions if talks fail.