Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT
The European Union (EU) is reportedly planning to fast-track a bloc-wide handling fee on small Chinese parcels. Chinese trade experts warned on Thursday that the accelerated timeline would simply shift structural pressure onto European consumers.
Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Thursday that imposing a flat fee without first consulting Chinese suppliers, platforms or consumer groups is an “unilateral act,” and “somewhat discriminatory.”
Zhou pointed out that if the levy singles out Chinese marketplaces such as Shein, Temu or Alibaba while sparing EU rivals, it risks breaching WTO non-discrimination rules.
The EU had called for a bloc-wide handling fee on small packages ordered online from platforms such as Shein, Temu and Alibaba to be imposed in early 2026, over two years earlier than scheduled, in a bid to crack down on billions of cheap Chinese imports each year, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Wednesday, citing a letter from trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic to EU finance ministers.
The move “would send a strong signal that Europe is serious about increasing its competitiveness and ensuring fair conditions for its businesses,” Maros Sefcovic claimed, according to the FT report.
Zhou noted that the EU’s concerns about the surge in cross-border parcels impacting its sustainable operations of businesses and squeezing its public service capacity are understandable. However, skipping the multilateral consultation process and unilaterally imposing fees will only shift the structural pressure onto the market and consumers.
The expert also called on the EU not to let political, irrational, or even ideological factors sway China-EU economic and trade relations. “The two economies remain structurally complementary and share broad consensus,” Zhou said, adding that upholding this common ground will boost market coordination on both sides and the voices of complementary cooperation and rational consensus should prevail over protectionism.
On China-EU relations, former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told the Global Times in an exclusive interview recently that as Europe’s economy stagnates, the government is increasingly relying on creating fear to maintain its rule, and part of this fear-creating involves demonizing other countries. Two polarizing trends are emerging within Europe: on the one hand, more people are beginning to view China positively; on the other hand, fear and xenophobia are rapidly growing.
According to Zhou, currently, China-EU economic and trade relations face increasing challenges: there are both external uncertainties and new changes in the development stages, industrial demands, and regulatory environments of both sides.
In this context, resolving differences through equal dialogue and consultation is far more effective than resorting to unilateral and restrictive measures, and better ensures the common interests of businesses and consumers on both sides, he added.
According to the FT report, the EU commission in May proposed scrapping a 150 euros threshold for goods to pay custom duties, effective from mid-2028, and introducing a 2 euros fee per package. Chinese sellers accounted for more than 80 percent of the 4.6 billion parcels purchased by European consumers last year.
EU’s reported plan to impose restrictions on Chinese small parcels under the pretext of “protecting domestic retailers” is a protectionist act that will negatively impact both Chinese manufacturers and European consumers, and will benefit neither side, Jian Junbo, director of the Center for China-Europe Relations at Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Because the goods subject to additional fees are mostly everyday consumer items — inexpensive yet of good quality — once handling fees are imposed, these costs will likely be passed on to consumers, leading to price increases, which is clearly bad news for European consumers, Jian explained.
From an operational perspective, implementing such measures will inevitably involve upgrading the customs system, expanding personnel, and restructuring processes. This not only requires greater human and material resources but also faces practical challenges such as personnel training and system integration, making it difficult to implement efficiently in the short term, Jian added.
In response to a media question asked about EC’s plan to impose a two-euro tax on small packages into the EU, and most of those packages come from China via digital platforms such as Temu or Shein, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said at a routine press conference that China believes that an open and inclusive environment for international trade serves the interest of all.
“We hope the EU will honor its commitment to openness, provide an open, transparent and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese businesses, and create favorable conditions for China-EU economic and trade cooperation,” said Mao.