European Analysts Call for Deterrence Strategy Against Chinese Economic Coercion
A European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) analysis published on March 31, 2026, argues that Europe must develop a substantive deterrence strategy to counter deliberate economic leverage from China. The report states that previous approaches of de-risking are now insufficient.
The Core Challenge
The analysis frames the issue starkly, quoting directly: "Europe has a China problem and pretending otherwise is making it worse." It identifies two primary instruments of Chinese leverage: the strategic use of cheap exports and the country's dominant monopoly on rare earth minerals. The report characterizes these not as incidental economic factors but as "leverage wielded deliberately" against European interests.
Prescribed Strategic Shift
In response to this assessed coercion, the ECFR analysis calls for a fundamental policy evolution. It concludes that "Europeans can no longer just de-risk." Instead, the report advocates that European institutions "need a deterrence strategy with teeth" to credibly counter Beijing's economic statecraft and reduce its ability to use trade dependencies for political pressure.
The publication outlines that such a strategy would require integrating defensive economic tools with broader diplomatic and security policies to enhance European resilience and bargaining power vis-à-vis China.