China is increasingly leveraging its economic relationships to advance political objectives, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday, highlighting growing

concerns in Brussels about the bloc’s strategic dependence on Beijing.

Speaking after a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers, Kallas said the discussions focused on how the European Union could more effectively use its trade and economic instruments to bolster resilience against coercive practices by major global powers.

“Today ministers discussed how we can better deploy our trade arsenal to strengthen Europe’s resilience,” Kallas said, adding that individual European countries lack the scale to counter China’s economic influence on their own. “No European country can match China on its own.”

Her remarks reflect a broader shift in EU policy thinking, as the bloc seeks to reduce vulnerabilities in key sectors such as critical raw materials, advanced technologies and supply chains. EU officials have increasingly warned that economic interdependence can be exploited for political leverage, particularly amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The European Union has in recent years introduced tools designed to counter economic coercion, including measures allowing the bloc to respond collectively to trade pressure or restrictions imposed for political reasons. Officials say closer coordination among member states is essential to ensure these instruments are effective.

Kallas’ comments come as the EU attempts to balance its economic ties with China — its second-largest trading partner — against concerns over security, market access and political influence, underscoring the growing emphasis on strategic autonomy in the bloc’s foreign and economic policy. Photo by European Parliament, Wikimedia commons.