German machinery manufacturers decry Chinese competitors’ advantages

The VDMA, a German association of 3,600 European mechanical and plant engineering companies, including construction equipment firms, warned that global competition with Chinese rivals is “increasingly fierce” across the whole mechanical and plant engineering sector.

It argued that while Chinese companies have become technologically stronger, they also “benefit significantly from unfair trade practices”.

The news came as the VDMA revised its position paper on China and called on both German and the EU to take “effective action” against breaches of competition law.

VDMA president Bertram Kawlath travelled to Brussels this week for talks with EU representatives on the issue.

He said, “We respect the achievements of our Chinese competitors. But as the distortions of competition caused by China and Chinese companies are now well documented, effective action is needed on the part of the EU to ensure a level playing field.

“We must not allow ourselves to become pawns in a game of subsidies, dumping and currency manipulation.”

In June 2025, the VDMA presented a position paper on dealing with China as a competitor: “Competition on Equal Terms: An Appeal to Policymakers on Dealing with China”.

It has now revised the document in view of what it sees as unfair trade practices and it is now presented as: “VDMA Position Paper on China - For Competitiveness and Fair Competition”.

The revised position paper calls for countervailing tariffs at product group level. And the VDMA cited construction machinery as a specific example of where there is already evidence of unfair competitive practices.

“The European Union must take swifter and more effective action against distortions of competition such as subsidies, dumping and currency manipulation. Currently, the European Commission investigates distortions of competition on a product-by-product basis. It would take decades to offset all unfair competitive advantages. We do not have that much time,” explains Oliver Richtberg, head of foreign trade at the VDMA.

The VDMA has also called on the European Union to consider a reversal of the burden of proof in relation to countervailing tariffs. “The distortions of competition caused by China and Chinese companies are now extensively documented. Therefore, where there is sufficient evidence, the Chinese companies concerned should be required to prove that they are not benefiting from these unfair advantages,” said Richtberg.

But Richtberg also warmed that the EU should not introduce import quotas with high additional duties on imports exceeding those quotas (‘safeguards’).

“Such measures would affect third countries equally, regardless of whether or not they engage in unfair competitive practices,” he added.