Politico podcast revisits EU's uneasy trade relationship with China
Politico's Brussels Playbook Week Ender podcast, currently on summer break, has re-released a May episode examining the EU's efforts to shape a unified stance on China. The show resumes its regular schedule on Aug. 24.
While Politico's Brussels Playbook Week Ender podcast remains on its summer hiatus, the outlet has brought back an earlier episode for listeners in the meantime. The conversation, originally aired in May, focuses on Europe's efforts to shield its industries from a surge of Chinese products entering the continent.
Host Sarah Wheaton led the discussion with three guests: Sander Tordoir of the Centre for European Reform, Grzegorz Stec of the Mercator Institute for China Studies, and POLITICO's own Jordyn Dahl. Their conversation centered on the European Commission's attempts to build a common European Union position toward China, touching on the broader challenges of economic security and trade policy facing member states.
The re-release comes as the podcast's usual production schedule remains paused for the summer. Politico confirmed that the Brussels Playbook Podcast will return to its regular weekly rhythm starting Aug. 24.
The episode's framing — posing the question of whether China functions as an "abusive" partner the EU cannot quit — reflects wider debates in Brussels over the bloc's economic entanglement with China and the difficulty of reducing that dependence while maintaining trade ties with one of the world's largest economies.
