BASF CEO Markus Kamieth has urged the EU to confront China’s unfair trade practices. Speaking to “Focus” Kamieth stated that “Chinese companies are not playing by the rules in many areas”. He stressed that if trade blatantly violates global regulations, the EU cannot afford to tolerate it. He noted a significant increase in cases submitted to the EU for examination regarding anti-dumping measures over the past 12 to 24 months, pointing to a doubling since 2023. Kamieth explained that China possesses massive overcapacities in many product sectors, leading manufacturers to offer these goods at prices sometimes below their actual production costs in order to sell them in Europe.
While addressing the trade issues, Kamieth remained pragmatic about the power dynamics between Europe and China. “We need the Chinese market; they don’t necessarily need us” he warned, adding, “And they certainly do not need any lectures from us”.
The CEO also cautioned against what he viewed as moral overconfidence within German politics. Kamieth advised that “The world is not waiting for private lessons from Germany on how it should think or live”. In his view, it is necessary to accept that Western values, however deeply cherished and highly regarded, are not universally applicable. Furthermore, we should dispel the belief that Western nations are unique or inherently superior based on their own innovations.