billion euros' worth of goods purchased by the European Union
2025, full calendar yearEU external trade by product — EurostatHome / Jurisdictions / China
Country file
China
The Union's purchases here are mainly machinery, equipment and transport materials. The population is largely connected and hosting here is split between local and overseas providers. Regional markers: East Asia and Pacific.
Relationship with the European Union
No preferential trade agreement with the European Union
No preferential arrangement applies. Trade falls under the common tariff, sometimes eased by preferences that the Union grants unilaterally and can withdraw. Security, however, is demonstrated case by case.
Sources reviewed on 17 September 2026
of these purchases: machinery and transport equipment
2025EU external trade by product — Eurostatof these purchases: miscellaneous manufactured articles
2025EU external trade by product — Eurostat01
Economy and sectors
No agreement
No preferential trade agreement with the European Union
trade is governed by standard rules and, where applicable, unilateral preferences that should be verifiedNo preferential arrangement applies. Trade falls under the common tariff, sometimes eased by preferences that the Union grants unilaterally and can withdraw. Security, however, is demonstrated case by case.
Map of trade agreements — European CommissionThird country
regime applicable to European data and access
European framework trackedNo general adequacy decision. The transfer mechanism and its accompanying measures must be chosen according to the actual data flows.
Adequacy decisions — European Commission91.6%
of the population uses the Internet
2025, latest available figure
Internet use — World Bank / ITUArms embargo
European Union restrictive measures targeting the country
EU Sanctions Map, as at 26 September 2026The EU applies to this country an arms embargo decided by the European Council, with no implementing regulation: each Member State enforces it. Ordinary trade is not affected.
EU Sanctions Map — European Commission02
Incidents, fraud and impersonation
1 413
secure servers per million inhabitants
2024, latest available figureHosting there may be local or foreign. Ask where your data actually resides, and who holds the keys to it.
Secure Internet servers — World BankDiverted order
verification of instruction changes
Cross-cutting controlOn industrial orders, impersonation targets a change of bank details or delivery location. Confirm any change through a channel already known to you, never the one that requested it.
03
Points to check within your organisation
The workshops behind the assembly
An assembly chain involves subcontractors in cascade. Ask which ones work on your order, from which sites, and which ones have access to the drawings or specifications you provide.
What crosses the border with the drawings
Without an adequacy decision, drawings, specifications and production data may only leave under the safeguard of a transfer tool. Ask which one is in place, and what it provides for should a local authority demand access to the supplier's servers.
The country behind each environment
Hosting may be local or overseas, and often both depending on the environment. Ask for the real picture: production, staging, backups, logs.
Developments to be aware of
The topics that may change your answers
EU restrictive measures
The EU applies to this country an arms embargo decided by the European Council, with no implementing regulation: each Member State enforces it. Ordinary trade is not affected.
EU–China relationship
No preferential arrangement applies. Trade falls under the common tariff, sometimes eased by preferences that the Union grants unilaterally and can withdraw. Security, however, is demonstrated case by case.
Data transfers
No general adequacy decision. The transfer mechanism and its accompanying measures must be chosen according to the actual data flows.
Export fabric
The values come from EU customs data: they show what Europe buys, not what a given supplier produces.
Machinery and transport equipment: 53.5% of what the Union buys here. Behind these flows: assembly chains, cascading subcontractors, industrial systems. This is where audit rights and evidence are at stake.
Official sources
- Trade relations by country — European Commission
- Map of trade agreements — European Commission
- EU external trade by product — Eurostat
- Adequacy decisions — European Commission
- Internet use — World Bank / ITU
- Secure Internet servers — World Bank
- EU Sanctions Map — European Commission
- EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions List — European Commission
Confidential exchange
Describe your European relationship and the request received.
The China file establishes a country and its relationship with the Union. What remains is to establish who assembles, from which sites, and what becomes of your drawings once they are transmitted.