24 Nov 2025
Interview with Jens Eskelund: Why is the EU's dependence on China increasing?
In this podcast [min. 55 - English], Insightview asks Jens Eskelund (https://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/presidents-statement) to help navigate both the Chinese economic reality and Europe’s strategic dilemma regarding China. Jens Eskelund is President of the European Chamber of Commerce in China (https://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/home).
Insightview asks Jens how he would describe the actual state of the Chinese economy behind the official data, including deflationary pressures, falling fixed investment, the government’s approach to the property sector, and the impact of rapid automation and AI on household sentiment. We also discuss why Europe’s de-risking remains so limited in practice, what structural barriers European companies face when trying to diversify, and whether Europe risks unintended consequences if it attempts to accelerate the process. Listen to the answer to “whether there are examples where the EU has managed to de-risk?”
China’s economy stands at a critical juncture, shaped by a widening gap between what the official data suggest and what underlying trends appear to reveal. On the surface, the country continues to post respectable headline growth and substantial export numbers. However, beneath that, the domestic economy looks significantly more fragile. Monetary data, investment trends and the deepening downturn in the property market all point to conditions that, had they appeared in the United States or the Eurozone, would almost certainly have triggered a return to quantitative easing.
Against this backdrop, Europe is pursuing a strategy of de-risking its relationship with China. However, the reality on the ground differs from the political messaging. Despite rising geopolitical tensions and growing calls for strategic autonomy, European dependence on imported Chinese goods remains unchanged. Several sectors still rely heavily on Chinese components, materials, and technologies, and shifting supply chains have proved far slower and more complex than many policymakers anticipated. The widening gap between political ambition and practical outcomes makes it essential to understand why Europe has struggled to reduce its exposure.
Jens Eskelund, who is also Chief Representative for A.P. Moller-Maersk in China, arrived in China in 1998. Jens lives with his family in Beijing. He holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy and studied at Aarhus University in Denmark and the University of Texas at Austin. He has also studied Chinese at Renmin University in Beijing. Before joining Maersk in Beijing in 2000, Jens Eskelund served as Commercial Attaché at the Danish Embassy in China.
See the related article here (https://insightview.eu/macro_article.php?aid=8096).
Music: Melodyloops (https://www.melodyloops.com/), 'Pure Calmness – by MediaM
See all previous podcasts here: insightview.eu/podcast (https://insightview.eu/index.php?mid=139)
