EU ‘forced labor’ ban overshadows its China relations

The European Parliament on Tuesday approved rules to ban goods produced by the so-called forced labor, which does not refer to but is believed to target China, thus casting a shadow on China-EU trade.

However, Chinese analysts said on Wednesday that such a move, despite representing some China hawks within the bloc, cannot dominate the major trend of “stabilizing China-EU relations” and will face strong opposition in member states which maintain a pragmatic China policy.

Authorities of EU member states or the European Commission will be able to investigate suspicious goods, supply chains, and manufacturers. Preliminary investigations should be wrapped up within 30 working days, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Products “deemed to have been made using forced labor” will be banned in the EU market and shipments will be intercepted at EU borders.

The law still needs approval from EU countries to enter into force – a final step that is usually a formality which approves laws with no changes.

Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of European Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the European Parliament has been playing a disruptive “clown” role in China-EU relations in recent years, but its acts cannot represent the real major trend of the bilateral ties.

As the 27-member bloc is not a monolithic whole, such rules will face great opposition in countries having close cooperation with China, Zhao said.

Citing European leaders, including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who paid visits to China one after another since the start of 2024, Zhao said that countries will act in line with their own interests rather than listen solely to the European Parliament’s anti-China bugles.

Such a ban may greatly increase the production costs of European companies and ultimately, it will be enterprises and consumers in the EU who will have to foot the bill, analysts said.