Could the EU dust off its trade bazooka to take on China?

Nine months in, however, gloom hangs over the relationship, as the bloc grows increasingly frustrated at the Asian giant’s action on trade and what it sees as its catalysing support for Russia on the battlefield.

“Some expected some kind of charm offensive by China … we haven’t seen a charm offensive. We’ve seen, rather, a worsening of our relations with China,” Maria Martin-Prat, the EU’s deputy director for trade, said at an event in Brussels this week.

This was trumpeted as evidence that despite tensions, the sides could still make progress through dialogue, but it has failed to deliver.

A survey of European Union businesses released on Friday showed that just 13.5 per cent of their 141 applications had been approved, leading to seven “production stoppages in August” and a further 46 expected stoppages in September.