China’s Foreign Minister Seeks to Lock Europe Into Beijing’s Orbit as US Tariff Walls Rise

Italy and Switzerland become Beijing’s latest tests in a shifting global trade map.

Published: 10/12/2025, 3:26:06 AM EDT

China’s Foreign Minister Seeks to Lock Europe Into Beijing’s Orbit as US Tariff Walls Rise — Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi (L), walks with Swiss Federal Councillor and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (R) during a visit to Castelgrande in Bellinzona, Switzerland, on Oct. 10, 2025. (Elia Bianchi/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Italy and Switzerland this week, and although Beijing has not admitted it, a major goal of that trip is to keep Europe as close to China's supply chains as possible. At the moment, Europe is faced with the Trump administration’s “us or them” trade policy when it comes to allies and their ties to China.

For example, the United States has a 50 percent tariff on all steel items coming in from the European Union. There is no chance the United States will allow Chinese-made steel exported in hot or cold rolled sheets to the EU, only to be turned into items like steel rebar used in construction and sold to the United States. For this reason, the EU is tossing around the idea of a 50 percent tariff on Chinese steel. This is likely part of Brussels’ discussion with Washington to lower steel tariffs.

The same goes for cars. The United States gave the EU a deal, cutting the 25 percent tariff on cars and car parts to 15 percent. That will not stand if Europe becomes a conduit for Chinese EVs and car parts shipped to the United States from Chinese-owned factories in countries like Hungary. China faces 100 percent tariffs on EVs, imposed by the Biden administration in May 2024.

What Official China Is Saying

Yi was in Italy for the 12th Joint Meeting of the China-Italy Government Committee before visiting Switzerland for the China-Switzerland Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue. The meetings end on Sunday.

On Chinese social and official channels this week, accounts linked to state organizations and overseas Chinese media stressed that Italy remains “an equal partner of ancient civilizations” and that ties should be upgraded to China-Italy 2.0, a euphemism for persuading Italy away from U.S.-style decoupling from Chinese industry.

The China-Italy “balancing act” was a recurring motif in Chinese-language coverage aimed at overseas readers in Rome.

Official readouts pushed “upgrade to 2.0” and anti-decoupling language.

In a loosely disguised swipe against the Trump administration, Yi blamed “unilateral bullying” for forcing allies away from China and being detrimental to European relations.

And in a joint press appearance with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, Yi positioned China-Italy engagement as the remedy to “an era of change” as Washington actively seeks to reshape the post-World War II trading system at a time when China is now the world’s No. 2 economy, surpassing Europe in numerous important economic sectors from renewable energy to biotech.

State media packaged the Rome meetings as a bid to portray momentum and remind Italy of the investment opportunities in China’s market, a market that has absorbed numerous Italian industries over the years.

Italy’s textile and apparel industry has been outsourced, contracted, or sold to Chinese ownership, especially in regions like Prato, one of Italy’s oldest and largest textile districts, dating back to the Middle Ages. The number of textile, apparel, and leather goods companies in Italy has fallen sharply—a 27 percent drop between 2010 and 2023, according to industry publication The Business of Fashion. China is the largest supplier of textile imports into Italy, with a 21.6 percent market share in early 2024, based on data by textile market research firm Fibre2Fashion.

Still, Yi framed China and Italy as both supporters of free trade and an open world economy. He touted China as “the most suitable and broad platform” for Italian companies to grow, meaning to invest in maintaining China as its go-to supply chain for manufactured goods.

The China-Italy Government Committee is historic. It is the first inter-governmental cooperation mechanism established between China and a European country and is now in its 21st year. Despite Italy taking itself off the China Belt and Road map in 2023, it remains an important inroad into Europe. Italian companies that rely on China as a partner in manufacturing, in particular, can be counted on to press the government to go slow on any moves to imitate the United States.

Switzerland: China on Neutral Ground

In Switzerland, China has found its best friend in all of Europe. It could also explain why Switzerland has 39 percent tariffs compared to the rest of Europe’s average tariff rate of 15 percent.

The two countries signed a free trade agreement in 2014. They are renegotiating an expansion of that deal, a deal that will surely keep Switzerland's tariffs high.

Switzerland’s China policy has historically prioritized commercial interests over human rights, said Ariane Knüsel, a Swiss academic at the University of Fribourg specializing in Chinese relations with Western countries. Switzerland’s recognition of China after the communist revolution in 1949 was largely pushed by Swiss multinationals looking to gain a foothold there over European rivals.

“Since then, Switzerland has consistently refused to impose sanctions on China,” she told NTD in an interview.

In recent years, there have been numerous articles about Chinese spy operations in Switzerland, such as Chinese scholars with ties to the People’s Liberation Army participating in Swiss research projects to obtain Swiss know-how via industrial espionage.

China has two objectives in Switzerland. One is to promote Chinese nationals into senior positions inside the United Nations system and other Western multilateral organizations in Geneva. And the other is influencing Swiss politicians and executives to win economic advantage, maintain neutrality on issues like the Uyghurs and human rights in Xinjiang, and keep Switzerland neutral on any eventual Taiwan invasion, the Center for European Policy Analysis said.

When China announced plans for a cultural center in Bern last year, the Swiss media immediately speculated it would be a hub for espionage, said Knüsel.

“The Swiss public is decidedly wary of the Chinese due to fears of espionage and subversion,” she said. “At the same time, Swiss companies and politicians act with a naivety toward China that is difficult to understand considering what is known about them historically and globally.”

Some European countries have talked about de-risking from China, perhaps only to placate the United States. But Switzerland never joined that chorus. Switzerland is also a bigger exporter to China than Italy. In 2024, Swiss exports to China were valued at around $42 billion compared to around $15 billion for Italy.

But Switzerland is getting tougher on Chinese investment in strategic sectors. The so-called “China law” was passed in March, making foreign investments in Swiss companies more difficult under new national security rules.

Successful, pro-China lobbying efforts by Swiss multinationals are one reason why Switzerland never imposed sanctions against China like Washington and Brussels.

“There is significant criticism of Switzerland’s refusal to impose sanctions on China while the EU has imposed many,” Knüsel said. “There is considerable consternation that Switzerland prioritizes trade over human rights. Of course, some European publications suggest that their country should take the Swiss road and improve commercial relations with China.”

That may be, but it will surely lead to further de-industrialization, as evidenced by Italian textiles. Meanwhile, if the Trump administration believes European countries, whether in the EU or not, are setting themselves up to be export hubs for Chinese multinationals, tariff deals will likely be off the table. In some cases, like cars, they could even go higher. Yi likely knows this and faces the difficult task of presenting China as both a future opportunity and an innocent victim, hoping Italy and Switzerland, at least, will not see their relationship with China as a headwind for their relationship with the United States. Yi will have to be mindful that he is not putting European countries in a risky position through free trade and investment deals that may ultimately worsen relations with their biggest export and defense partner—the United States.