Europe requires cool heads, but Brussels prefers hot air

Europe is discovering an uncomfortable truth: ideology is a poor substitute for air conditioning.

For years, Brussels has treated climate policy almost like a "religion", where virtue was measured by how much discomfort one could endure in the name of the planet. Then June arrived with temperatures soaring past 40 degrees Celsius. Schools closed, roads buckled, hospitals overflowed with patients and, tragically, lives were lost. Across the continent, Europe's infrastructure wilted almost as quickly as its gardens.

Suddenly, Europeans who had spent years debating whether air conditioners represented environmental excess found themselves desperately looking for one. Store shelves emptied. Installation waiting lists stretched for weeks. Portable units became prized possessions. Asian manufacturers, especially Chinese brands, found themselves answering Europe's unexpected SOS. Reuters reports that demand has surged across France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, with Chinese manufacturer Midea's portable systems selling out as Europeans searched for solutions compatible with the continent's aging buildings.

So, it turns out, that after all the talk about "strategic autonomy", when the thermometer climbs high enough, nobody checks whether the air conditioner they are buying carries the correct "passport".

That is not surprising given that quality Chinese products have increasingly become practical solutions. For industries, Chinese equipment and components facilitate industrial upgrading, green transitions and deeper integration into global value chains. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, intermediate-goods trade with China helped increase the number of developing economies serving as key global trading hubs from six in 2007 to 11 in 2024. For households struggling with persistent inflation in developed economies, affordable Chinese products ease financial pressure. The European Central Bank estimates that a 10 percent increase in Chinese imports into the European Union in 2026 would reduce overall import prices by 1.6 percent. That sounds less like an economic "shock" than an economic cushion. There is something almost theatrical about policymakers discussing new trade barriers inside air-conditioned conference rooms while people scramble to buy the very products those same officials portray as "strategic threats".

The bureaucracy seems fascinated by drafting ever more elaborate restrictions on Chinese green products, even as Europe's own consumers demonstrate that they value affordability, reliability and availability over political slogans.

Trade wars are wonderfully "exciting" to some — until someone else has to pay the electricity bill. The irony extends beyond air conditioners. Europe's heat wave has exposed something basic — aging houses poorly suited for rising temperatures, insufficient cooling infrastructure, energy shortages, cumbersome installation rules, fragmented local governance and slow bureaucratic responses cannot be solved by raising tariffs. Instead, restricting access to competitively priced Chinese green products simply increases the cost of Europe's own green transition. Inflationary pressures are intensifying precisely at a time European economies can least afford additional burdens.

Nor is China likely to absorb such measures passively. China has repeatedly demonstrated that it will defend its legitimate trade interests. Escalating restrictions inevitably invite countermeasures that benefit nobody. Fortunately, Beijing has consistently left the door open for candid dialogue to manage disagreements and expand areas of cooperation.

During the first five months of this year, China's imports grew by 20.5 percent, exceeding export growth by 8.7 percentage points. Among China's 50 largest trading partners, 32 recorded faster export growth to China than import growth from the country. This counters the narrative that China seeks permanent trade surpluses at others' expense.

Perhaps EU politicians should spend less time inventing new trade barriers and more time listening to the people's heated complaints. The continent's latest heat wave has delivered a lesson far more persuasive than any policy paper: when reality arrives, practical cooperation matters far more than political posturing. Hot air belongs to the atmosphere, not to trade policy.

— LI YANG, CHINA DAILY