BRUSSELS (Realist English). Under mounting pressure from China’s tight controls on rare earths and the escalating dispute over chipmaker Nexperia, senior EU officials have been instructed to dial down public criticism of Beijing — even as Brussels intensifies its long-term strategy to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains.
Multiple EU officials confirmed the bloc has entered a phase of “de-escalation,” aimed at persuading China to grant more export licences for rare earth elements vital to Europe’s high-tech industries. At the same time, Brussels is working urgently to restore chip shipments from Nexperia’s Chinese operations, disrupted after the Dutch government cut the firm’s European units off from their parent over governance concerns.
Sources told the Post that the EU and China are close to agreeing on a new licensing regime that would allow rare-earth exporters to obtain year-long permits, replacing the current three-month approvals. The arrangement follows months of quiet negotiations since Beijing introduced sweeping controls on rare earth exports in April — measures that rattled European manufacturers from electric vehicles to wind turbines.
Tensions deepened in September when Nexperia became entangled in China-Netherlands tech friction. Beijing responded to Dutch intervention by imposing further export restrictions on chips produced by Nexperia in China, triggering an urgent diplomatic push to prevent supply disruptions across Europe’s automotive sector.
To avoid jeopardising talks, member states have been warned against “megaphone diplomacy,” according to one diplomatic source, despite the European Commission simultaneously ramping up investigations into Chinese industrial practices. A probe under the EU’s new foreign subsidies regulation targeted Chinese state-owned rail giant CRRC earlier this month, while a wave of additional trade measures is expected before year-end.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is likely to raise both rare earths and semiconductor concerns when she meets Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit in South Africa this week. Officials describe the EU’s approach as a dual-track strategy: applying pressure through regulatory tools while avoiding public escalation that could derail sensitive negotiations.
This softer tone was evident at the Europe-China Forum in Brussels on Thursday, where EU and Chinese officials shared a stage in an unusually restrained exchange. Speakers emphasised cooperation — particularly on climate — while sidestepping flashpoints such as Beijing’s stance on Russia. One diplomat compared the atmosphere to the sitcom line “Don’t mention the war.”
Still, not all voices aligned with the new approach. Belgium’s ambassador to China, Bruno Angelet, urged Beijing to take Europe’s “existential” security fears over Russia seriously, citing what he called an “asymmetry of concerns” in EU-China dialogue. Chinese academics and diplomats pushed back, telling Europe to stop blaming Beijing for Moscow’s actions.
Behind the diplomatic restraint, Brussels is preparing a far-reaching package of new rules that will further test relations with Beijing. The EU will end tax-free treatment for low-value parcels from outside the bloc by 2026 — a move targeting Chinese e-commerce platforms Shein, Temu and AliExpress — and is pressing member states to remove Huawei from 5G networks.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday he would move to exclude Huawei from the country’s telecom infrastructure and would coordinate with France. He also signalled a broader ambition to reduce reliance not only on China but also on US tech giants.
Next month, the European Commission will propose an Industrial Accelerator Act that could require Chinese investors in strategic sectors — including electric-vehicle supply chains — to share technology with European firms. A forthcoming “economic security doctrine” will map out the EU’s full toolbox for responding to economic coercion from China or the United States.
A major initiative, ReSourceEU, is also being drafted to break Europe’s dependence on Chinese rare earths, drawing inspiration from the bloc’s rapid pivot away from Russian energy following the Ukraine invasion.
Despite the softer public messaging, officials acknowledge that relations with Beijing are entering a more confrontational structural phase — one that combines negotiation with a growing arsenal of economic countermeasures.
