Bloomberg
EU Pushes Back on China With Powers to Thwart State-Backed Firms
(Bloomberg) — The European Union is looking to strengthen its hand against the growing economic threat posed by China, with new powers targeted at foreign state-owned companies.The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, proposed new rules to levy fines and block deals, according to a draft obtained by Bloomberg. While China isn’t specifically mentioned in the proposal, the move follows complaints from European businesses that the Asian nation’s firms get support they can’t match.Chinese business groups have already complained about the latest initiative, which will need support from EU governments before they become final. The document is a draft and could still change before it’s set to be proposed next week.It’s the next step in the EU’s efforts to ward off China, building on a push by member states to protect strategic companies from takeovers by non-European buyers.Amid the steepest recession in almost a century, Europe has shown signs of increasing protectionism. EU governments…
