GreenergyDaily

Oct. 15, 2025

The European Union is considering forcing Chinese firms to hand over technology to European companies if they want to operate locally, Bloomberg reported, in an aggressive new push to make the bloc's industry more competitive.

The measures would apply to companies seeking access to key digital and manufacturing markets like cars and batteries, according to people familiar with the plans. The rules would also require the firms to use a set amount of EU goods or labor, and to add value to the products on EU soil.

Enforcing joint ventures is another option on the table.

While the rules — expected in November — would technically apply to all non-EU firms, the goal is to keep China's manufacturing might from overwhelming European industry, said the people.

"We are welcoming foreign direct investment under the conditions that they are real investment," EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told reporters Tuesday following an EU trade ministers' meeting in Horsens, Denmark. That means jobs created in Europe, value added in Europe and technology transfers to Europe, he said, "as European companies have been doing when they've been investing in China."

"Several measures are being considered to foster a strong, competitive, and decarbonised European industry," said Thomas Regnier, a spokesperson for the European Commission, the EU's executive arm preparing the regulations. He added that "no final decision has been made regarding the exact scope and nature of these measures."

A key plank of the upcoming proposal will aim to help Europe's nascent electric-vehicle industry, said people familiar with the plan. It will specifically focus on the transfers of battery technology know-how, given that EU automakers are often reliant on China for these components in electric vehicles, leaving them behind Chinese peers, like BYD Co.