This episode contains segments on:
- China’s October 2026 producer price index and consumer price index;
- China’s October 2026 foreign trade in goods data;
- EU-China matchmaking event for medical devices;
- Ministry of Commerce launches two anti-dumping probes into certain EU imports.
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Read more:
China’s October 2026 producer price index and consumer price index
https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/sjjd/202611/t20261109_1965796.html
China’s October foreign trade in goods data
EU-China matchmaking event for medical devices at the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE)
China’s Ministry of Commerce’s announcement on launching anti-dumping probes into para-aramid filament yarn from EU, ethylidene norbornene from EU, Japan
https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/xwfb/xwfyrth/art/2026/art_337d9e1ef6fb4138a1cdf1952597eca1.html
Transcript:
RUI: Hello and welcome to China ShortCuts,
XINHE: the European Chamber’s weekly catchup on China’s business landscape.
RUI: This episode was recorded on 11th November 2026.
(MUSIC)
RUI: Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on 9th November showed that China’s producer-price inflation accelerated while consumer inflation slowed.
XINHE: China’s producer price index—or PPI—rose by 5.7 per cent year-on-year, the fastest rate since June 2022. The increase was primarily driven by a sharp rise in prices in the extraction and processing of fossil fuels and raw materials. Meanwhile, the consumer price index—or CPI—registered 0.7 per cent year-on-year inflation in October, down from 0.9 per cent in September. Food prices were the main drag on consumer price inflation, while an uptick in gasoline prices contributed to a continued, albeit meagre increase overall.
RUI: The current increase in producer prices is again predominantly being driven by cost-push inflation—with input costs, including for coal, natural gas and petroleum extraction and processing, all rising—and not increases in demand. This, together with the widening divergence between factory-gate inflation and consumer inflation, suggests limited pass-through of higher input costs, putting further pressure on producers’ profit margins.
(MUSIC)
RUI: China exported 412.3 billion US dollars’ worth of goods to the rest of the world in October, a year-on-year increase of 35.2 per cent, according to data published by China’s General Administration of Customs. The total value of goods imported to the country from the rest of the world grew by 41.6 per cent over the same timeframe, to stand at 307 billion US dollars.
XINHE: Despite import growth outpacing export growth, the country’s trade surplus with the rest of the world widened in October to 105.3 billion US dollars, up by 19.6 per cent year-on-year. At the same time, China’s trade surplus with the EU also continued to expand on a year-on-year basis, standing at 33 billion US dollars, up by 50 per cent compared with the same period last year.
RUI: The EU’s growing trade deficit with China has become a significant point of contention in Brussels and many EU Member State capitals. During the second round of meetings of the EU-China Trade and Investment Consultation Mechanism held in October, 16 deliverables were announced, with the aim of balancing bilateral trade relations.
(MUSIC)
RUI: As a follow-up to the recent second round of meetings under the EU-China Trade and Investment Consultations (TIC), a matchmaking event, organised during the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE), was held on 12th November.
XINHE: The matchmaking session brought together 40 entities on the EU side and 140 Chinese buyers. In addition, key Chinese regulators linked to procurement for medical devices at both the national and local levels participated in a policy interpretation session with industry. Given that access to procurement is a major factor impacting European companies in the sector—with 89 per cent of Business Confidence Survey respondents in the medical devices industry reporting that they had missed business opportunities due to market access and regulatory barriers in 2025—the Chamber sees the matchmaking event and the policy interpretation session as an encouraging first step towards addressing related issues.
RUI: The European Chamber is keen to support further, similar engagements among relevant Chinese and European authorities and industry players with a view to achieving concrete outcomes.
(MUSIC)
RUI: On 6th November, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced that it has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of para-aramid filament yarn originating from the EU, and ethylidene norbornene (ENB) originating from the EU and Japan, effective on the same day.
Para-aramid filament yarn is a high-performance synthetic product that is used in sectors including telecommunications and optoelectronics, rubber products, and tyre manufacturing, and also has applications for the automotive, aerospace and environmental protection industries, among others. ENB is a chemical used in synthetic resins, plastics, elastomers and pharmaceutical intermediates.
XINHE: A MOFCOM spokesperson said during a separate press briefing held on the same day that preliminary evidence showed that dumped imports from the EU have caused injury to the production and operation of China’s domestic industry. The spokesperson noted that Chinese authorities will “safeguard the rights of all interested parties, and make an objective and impartial ruling based on facts and evidence”.
At the same time, the spokesperson also pointed out that there has been a sharp increase in EU trade remedy investigations involving Chinese products, with 16 cases opened so far this year. Nine of the cases, or nearly 60 per cent, involve chemical products. The spokesperson said that “the EU should face up to its own economic and trade challenges” and “protectionism cannot improve competitiveness”.
(MUSIC)
XINHE: Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to tune in again next week.
RUI: In the meantime, please find useful links in the episode notes.