Gantry cranes and containers at the Yangshan deepwater port in Shanghai. European buyers are seeking to reduce their dependence on China, sourcing executives say, as the European Union increases scrutiny of goods from the world’s largest export economy. Photograph: Qilai Shen/BloombergEuropean buyers are seeking to reduce their dependence on China, sourcing executives say, as the European Union increases scrutiny of goods from the world’s largest export economy.
But unlike US companies, which have aggressively sought new suppliers following Washington’s imposition of a stringent regime of tariffs and other restrictions, Europeans are focused on reducing their dependence in specific areas where they believe they have become over-reliant on Chinese goods.Datalex report must pave way for company to deal with 18% Desmond loans
“A lot of the European countries, you know, may not have any problems working with China, but they think that if China’s going to be impacted, OK, they better also think about how it’s going to affect them,” said William Fung, deputy chair of Fung Group, which controls Li & Fung, one of the world’s largest sourcing groups by revenue.
“Many of the buyers feel a risk in procuring from China. So if the price has a little bit of room they prefer to go to India,” he said. Analysts cautioned that the push to de-risk was unlikely to hit China’s overall exports too severely, pointing to increased shipments to Chinese-built factories in alternative overseas manufacturing hubs such as Vietnam and Mexico, and the increased competitiveness of domestically produced goods.