Unlike the US, which has always maintained a more direct stance on China trade relations, the EU, as usual, has relied more on its soft power. Its officials prefer to reason with their Chinese counterparts, in the hope that clear but sensible dialogue would bring them to address the trade topics more willingly. Alas, it seems that speaking softly hasnt aided the European position. Increasingly, Eurocrats are beginning to understand that the saying speak softly and carry a large club seems to hold more truth than calm conversation on its own.

In its 2007 antidumping report, the European Commission demonstrated the number of antidumping measures which were employed, and investigations and proceedings commenced during 2006. Of the latter, there was a clear rise to be noted in the number commenced that year. Furthermore, of the 36 new antidumping measures put into effect, 12 were aimed specifically at Chinese exports.

The sectors mainly targeted by these new and existing measures are the chemical, metal and electronic industries. However, at the same time, the European Commission reported to the WTO, stating that no new investigations were started in the first half of this year. This could be interpreted by Chinese and Hong Kong based companies that the EUs antidumping activities have eased somewhat, however it is well known that the European Commission changes into a higher trade-defense-gear in the latter part of the year, especially in the current and upcoming months. This can also be deduced from the murmurs in Eurocrat offices, where officials seem to be gearing up for new confrontations with China over trade policies and trade defense.