During his visit to China this week, the EU's Agriculture Commissioner, Janusz Wojciechowski, stated that his primary focus will be on increasing agri-food exports to the world's second-largest economy and keeping food out of the escalating tensions in China-EU trade.
"In food trade, there are no barriers to Chinese imports," Wojciechowski said in an interview in Shanghai on Monday. "My intention is to minimize agriculture's bearing the costs of problems in other sectors, which can sometimes occur."
The commissioner's visit, scheduled until Friday, comes at a time when China and Europe are facing a "slow-motion train wreck," with a growing wave of protectionism threatening to escalate into a full-blown trade war, warned Jens Eskelund, president of the European Chamber in China, last week.
Unlike sectors such as solar panels or new energy vehicles (NEVs), the EU's agri-food sector maintains a surplus in exports in its trade with China.
Contrary to other sectors, open food trade remains a "very important instrument for ensuring food security worldwide," which is why Western sanctions against Russia following its incursion into Ukraine were not imposed on agri-food products, said Wojciechowski.
Last year, EU exports to China were valued at €14.6 billion ($15.57 billion), a decrease of 8% from 2022, while imports from China to the EU fell by 15% to €8.3 billion.
Wojciechowski noted that there is room for EU exports to China to grow in several agri-food sectors, from poultry to pork, beef, and even dairy, a segment that is already relatively advanced in terms of penetration in China.
"We can see the rise of middle-class consumers seeking good-quality and high-quality food. This is an opportunity for European food to increase our exports," he stated.
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