Press
Germany bears the brunt of China Shock 2.0
09 June 2026
Semafor
Nowhere is the new China shock reverberating globally “more consequential than in Germany,” Sander Tordoir and Brad Setser argued in a Center for European Reform report in May, but it is a problem of Berlin’s own making.
A ‘big bang’ reversal of Brexit is both unrealistic and unnecessary
08 June 2026
Financial Times
As Anton Spisak noted in a study of the latest EU-Swiss deal for the Centre for European Reform, the result is rather messy. But it may be workable.
Could Switzerland become the first country to cap its population?
08 June 2026
The New Yorker
John Springford, a fellow at the Centre for European Reform, has estimated that by mid-2022 Brexit had shaved five per cent off the UK’s GDP and reduced over-all trade by ten to fifteen per cent. The hit to trade would be especially painful for Switzerland, which has an export-dependent economy.
“You’re competing with other European countries to bring in labor,” Springford said. “That’s quite difficult. Migrants respond to those kind of incentives.” Nearly three-quarters of new doctors in Switzerland were trained outside the country.
“You’re competing with other European countries to bring in labor,” Springford said. “That’s quite difficult. Migrants respond to those kind of incentives.” Nearly three-quarters of new doctors in Switzerland were trained outside the country.
China is killing Europe’s chemicals industry. Brussels wants to intervene
07 June 2026
Politico
Brussels’ current trade defense policy is a “piecemeal, product-by-product” approach that is “no match for China’s macroeconomic distortions,” said Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform.
The China Shock 2.0 could destroy Europe as we know it
03 June 2026
The Telegraph
“China Shock 2.0: the cost of Germany’s complacency” is the title of a new report by Sander Tordoir and Brad Setser for the Centre for European Reform. They said Germany was in the eye of the storm. Its core industries are being squeezed out of the Chinese market, third countries, and its own home market, all at the same time.“Much of the demand generated by Germany’s fiscal expansion could leak straight into Chinese imports and throttle Germany’s recovery,” they said.
Comment l’Allemagne a désindustrialisé l’Europe
02 June 2026
Europe Infos
Le Centre for European Reform reprend une image qui colle à cette situation, un Phantomschmerz, cette douleur de membre fantôme décrite par Sander Tordoir et Brad Setser. La douleur se ressent là où quelque chose de vital a déjà été perdu. Appliquée à l’industrie, l’idée est parlante, on continue d’organiser des politiques comme si la puissance industrielle était intacte, mais les capacités, les emplois, les sites, ont déjà reculé, et le système ressent le manque quand il faut réagir vite.
CER podcast: Unpacking Europe: The path to EU enlargement
01 June 2026
Zselyke Csaky spoke with Milan Nic about where EU enlargement is headed.
OECD says 60% of Chinese gains in market share driven by subsidies
01 June 2026
The Wall Street Journal
“French diplomats have put China’s imbalanced growth model at the top of the agenda and called for the EU to more strongly defend its home market,” economists at the Centre for European Reform wrote in a report released last month. “Germany remains hesitant, even as China has already eaten much of German industry’s lunch and is preparing to start on dinner.”
China is having Germany for dinner and that’s a problem for the world
01 June 2026
The Times
A new report from the Centre for European Reform lays bare how far China has gone in eating Germany’s lunch and eyeing up its dinner. Last year was the first this century where German firms imported more capital goods (components used in production processes) from China than it exported to China.
EU’s dealmaking machine grinds steadily on
01 June 2026
Financial Times
This Centre for European Reform paper, a campaign manual for trade warriors, has also got a lot of attention.
Why Germany's China policy is dividing Europe and weakening its own economy
01 June 2026
TRT World
The latest report from the Centre for European Reform (CER) analytically outlines the implications of the so-called ‘China Shock 2.0’: the Asian giant’s economic model does not operate in accordance with the rules of the ordoliberal EU single market.
The EU’s new economic security tools and China’s countermeasure calculus
01 June 2026
The Diplomat
A paper by the Centre for European Reform argued that Germany faces a “China shock 2.0” as Chinese mass production and import substitution pressure German firms in China, Europe, and third markets. It cited China’s export volumes rising over 40 percent since the pandemic, a manufacturing surplus of about $2 trillion, and potential risks to 400,000-plus German jobs tied to exports to China.
As EU mulls economic tools, China vows to take steps against any new trade restrictions
31 May 2026
South China Morning Post
According to a report in late May by the London-based think tank Centre for European Reform, a European 301-type instrument would allow Brussels to counter distortions outside traditional trade defences, such as the yuan’s undervaluation, and flexibly target vulnerable sectors, including cars, chemicals and clean energy.
Industrie européenne : "La pression chinoise s'exerce sur trois fronts, c'est sans précédent !"
30 May 2026
L'Express
Le choc de compétitivité imposé par la Chine n’obéit pas aux règles habituelles. Pour résister, le Vieux Continent doit faire beaucoup plus, prévient l'économiste Sander Tordoir.
Von der Leyen gears up for fight over China trade ties
29 May 2026
Politico
The question that Germany now faces is whether it is willing to join forces with France and other countries, and the Commission, “to defend the European home market from the flood of Chinese goods that is coming our way,” said Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform.
EU wants 'robust' defence against China trade imbalance
29 May 2026
France 24
"The main thing is Europe has an arsenal of trade instruments at its disposal already. What's missing is a lack of political will to deploy them," said Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform (CER) think-tank.
Por qué Europa debe adoptar los aranceles
28 May 2026
Expansion
En un reciente estudio, Sander Tordoir y Brad Setser señalan que el extraordinario rendimiento exportador de China ha ido a la par del bajo rendimiento de la eurozona. En los sectores donde la cuota de mercado de exportación china ha aumentado en los últimos años, la producción alemana ha sido particularmente débil. Las importaciones totales de China apenas han crecido en los últimos cinco años y, desde mediados de 2025, ha estado vendiendo más bienes de capital a Alemania de los que ha comprado.
EU wil breder invoerheffingen gaan inzetten tegen China
28 May 2026
NRC Handelsblad
Recente denktankrapporten laten zien hoe de dikwijls door de staat gesubsidieerde Chinese exportmachine de Europese industriële basis ondermijnt, terwijl het land tegelijkertijd steeds meer de eigen markten afschermt voor Europese bedrijven. Vooral exportland Duitsland ondervindt de „China-schok 2.0” aan den lijve, schreven economen Sander Tordoir en Brad Setser onlangs.
„China führt einen industrie-politischen Krieg – und Europa hat nicht reagiert“
28 May 2026
Automonilwoche
Brad Setser ist Co-Autor der vielbeachteten Studie „China-Schock 2.0″. Ein Gespräch über die strategische Falle der Autoindustrie und Zölle, die China wirklich wehtun würden.Kurz vor der Reise von Wirtschaftsministerin Katherina Reiche (CDU) nach China (27./28. Mai) schlägt eine Studie des Thinktanks Center for European Reform (CER) hohe Wellen. Der Titel: „China-Schock 2.0 – die Kosten der Selbstzufriedenheit Deutschlands“. Darin argumentieren die Ökonomen Sander Tordoir und Brad Setser, Deutschland unterschätze das Ausmaß der Bedrohung Chinas für die hiesige Industrie.
La Cina divora la Germania. E Berlino non sa che fare
28 May 2026
Huffington Post
Ma uno studio del Centre for European Reform firmato da Brad Setser e Sander Tordoir dal titolo "China shock 2.0: The cost of Germany's complacency" evidenzia come la Germania sia la prima a non saper diagnosticare le cause del suo male. Per fare un esempio, sembra un paziente che ha subìto un'amputazione e si senta affetto dalla sindrome dell'arto fantasma. Un dolore (economico) persistente per qualcosa che non c'è più.








