Salvador Beltrán doesn’t sugarcoat it. China has shaken up the global order by sticking to its own playbook, leaving Europe and the US trying to catch up. For Beltrán, the real surprise isn’t that China became the world’s second-biggest economy in fifty years. It’s that Western leaders failed to see how far Beijing would go to protect its interests and change the rules.
China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. That changed everything. Western governments thought China would stay a minor player; they underestimated its ambitions. Beltrán says China used its state-driven model to get ahead, with the government calling the shots at home and abroad. “They always play by their own rules,” he says. He points to the Communist Party, “which is neither a party nor communist in the traditional sense,” as the force behind China’s economic push.
Information from Eurostat, in 2025 the EU imported €559.4 billion worth of goods from China and exported €199.6 billion. That produced a record trade deficit of €359.8 billion, about €1 billion per day.
China’s rise rested on a mixed economic system, backed by a population accustomed to strict control and a sharp focus on education. Beltrán skips the old debate over whether China is capitalist or communist. He sees a practical mix: the state drives growth while leaving enough room for the market to attract investment and new tech. The model has pulled millions out of poverty, but working conditions remain tough and oversight tight.
Beltrán says Western discussion of population control misses the point. Political repression is only part of the picture. He describes a society shaped by centuries of discipline and a sense of collective duty. The state’s grip reaches beyond censorship and shapes daily life. The result is a workforce willing to put up with exploitation if it means national progress.
Education helped China break out of the “middle-income trap.” Countries like Mexico and Brazil lost their edge as wages rose. China anticipated the shift and poured money into education and long-term reforms. The country moved from being the world’s factory to a center for talent and innovation. Its push into artificial intelligence and robotics followed decades of planning.
In the second quarter of 2026, the EU’s trade deficit with China reached €103 billion, the highest quarterly figure since Q3 2022. Reuters reported that Ursula von der Leyen said in statements on September 16, 2026, that the EU was prepared to use all available tools to address what she called an “unsustainable” imbalance. Those tools could include restrictions on hybrid vehicle imports and new anti-subsidy measures.
Europe is caught between protectionism and adaptation. Beltrán notes that Brussels, led by figures like Von der Leyen, is starting to copy some of China’s moves to protect its own industries. The EU’s new car manufacturing rules directly answer China’s aggressive push. But Beltrán points out that Europe hasn’t put the same pressure on American tech, even though the US keeps a tight grip on its own digital giants. China is the only big country that has managed to hold US tech dominance at bay.
Chinese companies are changing tactics to get around tariffs and new rules. They’re building factories in Morocco, buying plants such as Ford’s in Valencia and seeking ways to label their goods as European. The EU is pushing back. It wants fair treatment and is making it harder for Chinese firms to buy in. Beltrán says Europe must act together rather than as separate countries, or risk becoming dependent on outside powers.
Spanish businesses are feeling the shift too. In the last five years, about 1,000 companies from the Comunitat Valenciana have left China, many of them in the shoe business. Higher wages in cities like Shanghai have erased the cost advantage that once drew European firms. Even big names like Telefónica and major banks are pulling back, citing political barriers and tough conditions. Tesla’s story is telling: China forced it to export much of what it makes there. Foreign companies face real limits in China.
China’s lead in artificial intelligence is just as tough. The country is pushing for global rules and open-source standards, with international oversight. The US is fighting any move that could weaken its control. Beltrán is blunt: China won’t settle for a lesser role. It will only deal as an equal.
China’s rise is reshaping global trade. As reported earlier, European regions are already shifting course. Imports from Asia now outpace those from the Americas. The shift goes beyond money, forcing governments and industries to rethink alliances and supply chains, as well as the terms of competition.
Beltrán feels no nostalgia for the old order. Western dominance has ended. China’s methods, controversial or not, have worked. Europe’s only real choice is to adapt smartly and stick together. Otherwise, it risks being pushed aside in a world where the rules are no longer set in Brussels or Washington. The warning is clear: anyone who underestimates China’s ability to reinvent itself does so at their own risk.
