法国和德国领导人要求获得一种新的贸易武器，以便在第三国造成严重扭曲时切断其进入欧盟市场的通道。这是迄今为止欧洲联盟对华政策正在转变的最强烈信号。
In the strongest sign yet of a shifting European Union policy on China, the leaders of France and Germany have demanded a new trade weapon that would cut off access to the EU market when third countries cause severe distortions.
该工具实际上将起到“终止开关”的作用，使布鲁塞尔能够对系统性扭曲作出迅速反应，甚至可能立即采取行动。这将赋予欧盟委员会戏剧性的新权力。作为欧盟的执行机构，欧盟委员会负责管理这个由27个成员国组成的联盟的贸易政策。
The tool would effectively act as a kill switch, allowing Brussels to respond rapidly to systemic distortions, potentially immediately. It would grant dramatic new powers to the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, which manages trade policy for the 27-member union.
这一战略概述于欧盟两大成员国撰写的一份联合文件以及一封致欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩的信中。《南华早报》已看到这两份文件。它们发布于欧盟与中国谈判的关键时期之前。
The strategy was laid out in a joint paper written by the bloc’s two largest members, as well as a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – both of which have been seen by the South China Morning Post – ahead of a crucial period of EU-China negotiations.
这封由德国总理弗里德里希·默茨和法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙签署的信表示：“我们需要让委员会掌握一种工具，以便能够作出果断、系统性的反应，即通过反向特定多数表决机制启动，并在必要时采取包括立即切断其进入内部市场通道在内的强有力措施。”
“We need a credible instrument in the hands of the Commission to allow for decisive and systemic reaction, i.e. activation by reversed qualified majority, and for powerful measures up to an immediate cut-off from the internal market if needed,” the letter, signed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, said.
虽然这两份文件都没有点名中国，而且都明确表示任何新工具都必须不针对特定国家，但其中充斥着通常被视为中国政策代名词的表述，包括“与关键伙伴之间不可持续的贸易逆差”、“结构性产能过剩”、“倾销、过度且全方位的补贴”，以及汇率操纵和币值低估。
While neither document names China, and both make clear that any new instruments would have to be country-agnostic, they are laden with language ordinarily seen as bywords for China’s policies, including “unsustainable trade deficits with key partners”, “structural excess capacity”, “dumping, excessive and across the board subsidies”, and currency manipulation and undervaluation.
与现有的贸易防御工具不同，这一工具旨在应对传统倾销或补贴之外的扭曲行为，包括政治或经济施压以及汇率操纵，并且适用范围可能从单一产品扩展到整个行业。
Unlike existing trade-defence tools, this tool would be designed to tackle distortions beyond traditional dumping or subsidies, including political or economic pressure and currency manipulation, and could apply from a single product to an entire sector.
为了防止单一成员国阻止其使用，除非欧盟成员国的特定多数反对，否则欧盟委员会就可以动用这一工具。
In order to prevent single capitals from blocking its use, the commission could deploy the instrument unless a qualified majority of EU members oppose it.
这项未具名的工具是法国和德国政府提出的一系列新建议之一。两国此前在涉华政策上存在分歧，但近几个月来立场趋于一致。随着中国在关键领域的进口激增，柏林的立场发生了显著转变，官员们称这一现象相当于“中国冲击2.0”。
The unnamed instrument is one of a suite of new recommendations by the French and German governments, which have previously sparred on China policy but have come closer together in recent months, with Berlin’s position shifting notably amid a surge in Chinese imports in key sectors, which officials say amounts to a “China Shock 2.0”.
该文件还呼吁建立新的多元化工具，以降低依赖并迫使企业分散采购风险，同时更频繁、更迅速地启动贸易调查。柏林和巴黎特别呼吁在化学品、部分塑料以及插电式混合动力汽车领域采取紧急的针对性措施。
The paper also calls for a new diversification instrument to reduce dependencies and force companies to spread their sourcing risks, and the more frequent and rapid deployment of trade investigations. Berlin and Paris specifically call for urgent targeted measures in chemicals, some plastics and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
这些文件为欧盟贸易负责人马罗什·谢夫乔维奇与中国商务部部长王文涛于周四和周五举行的会谈奠定了基础。下周，这些文件将有助于为布鲁塞尔举行的欧盟领导人峰会定调，届时他们将讨论如何应对被视为欧洲工业生存危机的重大问题。文：芬巴尔·伯明翰
The documents set the stage for talks between the EU’s trade chief Maros Sefcovic and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Thursday and Friday. Next week, they will help set the tone for a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, where they will discuss what to do about what is considered an existential problem for European industry. By Finbarr Bermingham