EU threatens China over trade gap

The European Commission is pressing China to make progress by next month on its widening trade imbalance with the EU. It is also raising the possibility of new protectionist trade measures. The deadline raises a key question: how should China and its trading partners handle economic imbalances while still sharing the benefits of Chinese industrial competitiveness? China's merchandise trade surplus approached US$1.2 trillion last year, even as other exporting economies push for controls on "overcapacity."