What's Holding Back EU Exports to China?

Access to the fast-growing Chinese economy is prized by policymakers and business people. Concerns that European firms are missing out on the Chinese boom have caused soul-searching in Europe about "competitiveness" and led to accusations of Chinese protectionism. For the first 15 members to join the European Union this paper estimates the factors affecting the share of each country’s exports going to China from 2000 to 2010. China’s growing share of world spending is found to be the most important factor but labour cost differentials within Europe, two forms of commercial diplomacy, and crisis-era murky protectionism by China contributed too.