The European Union is preparing new measures that would require companies to diversify away from Chinese suppliers in strategic sectors, marking one of Brussels’ most significant economic-security shifts in decades.
According to recent reporting, the EU is considering rules forcing firms to source critical components from multiple non-Chinese suppliers, particularly in sectors linked to technology, energy and industrial infrastructure.
The move reflects a broader transformation in Western economic thinking. For years, Europe treated globalization primarily as an efficiency model. Today, supply chains are increasingly viewed through the lens of resilience, dependency and geopolitical vulnerability.
China remains economically indispensable for many European industries. But Brussels has become increasingly alarmed by Beijing’s dominance in areas such as batteries, rare earth materials, solar technology and advanced manufacturing inputs.
The EU is therefore attempting a difficult balancing act, reducing strategic exposure to China without triggering full economic confrontation. That approach differs from Washington’s more aggressive decoupling rhetoric, but the direction of travel is increasingly similar.
Economic policy is becoming a security policy, this is the new normal in Europe.
