DIHK survey: Chinese rivals hit firms without exports

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The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) has analysed responses from around 1,300 businesses on competition with China. Most are staying in contested markets while demanding protection from Brussels that could increase their own procurement costs. The pressure also reaches firms that have never exported to China. Which of the proposed instruments the EU will use remains unclear.

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What is the DIHK China survey? In July and August 2026, the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry collected responses from around 1,300 companies in industry, trade and services on competition with China and published the results on 3 September 2026.

Pressure reaches the domestic market, even without China business

Two-thirds of respondents face growing competition from Chinese suppliers, according to the special survey published on 3 September 2026. 35 percent rate this pressure as strong or very strong.

In industry, the share is 83 percent; in trade, it is 73 percent. In services, logistics and transport, around a third of respondents report growing competition. The chamber notes that industrial businesses face competition primarily within the EU single market, while trading companies face it primarily within Germany. Competition is therefore taking place where prices and delivery times are compared daily.

Businesses that invest in China or export there feel the competition most acutely. The finding extends beyond this group. 38 percent of businesses with no direct China business face the same tougher competition. A domestic supplier’s quote can face the same price pressure as one from China.

The survey also collects the reasons businesses give for this pressure. Higher energy and labour costs in Germany compared with Chinese competitors feature alongside European bureaucracy. Other factors include market access restrictions under a China-first policy, subsidies, the exchange rate, Chinese manufacturers’ preferential access to critical raw materials and concerns about intellectual property. At the same time, many responses describe a dependence on low-cost Chinese manufacturing and cheaper intermediate goods. The competitor is therefore often also the firm’s own supplier.

Few want to withdraw, but more plan to relocate

Withdrawing from the contested business segment is out of the question for 88 percent of respondents. Businesses are responding by strengthening their position: product innovation comes first, followed by cost reduction, new markets and cooperation with Chinese partners. Cooperation is much more common among importers.

Relocation is the more expensive version of the same decision. 19 percent plan to relocate investments because of the competition. Among businesses with their own operations in China, this share doubles. Only 12 percent are considering abandoning the business entirely. Businesses are therefore staying in the market and reassessing their locations: those manufacturing in China relocate more often, while those manufacturing in Germany focus more on products and costs.

Volker Treier, head of foreign trade at DIHK, says Chinese manufacturers have long competed on more than volume and price. They are technologically strong, innovative and have a greater international presence.

Tougher EU measures, even when they hurt

Businesses’ political demands run counter to their operational response. 67 percent want the European Union to present a united front towards China. 60 percent want to reduce strategic dependencies, particularly on raw materials. 49 percent favour keeping Chinese companies out of critical infrastructure. 36 percent want to restrict access to the EU single market. The priorities are clear: first a common position, then dependencies, then infrastructure, then market access.

55 percent support tougher trade measures towards China, even at a cost to their own businesses; 37 percent oppose them. Support is highest in industry and among directly affected businesses. This is the survey’s contradiction: a majority are staying in the market, and some cooperate with Chinese partners. A majority also demand instruments that could make intermediate goods and sales channels more expensive.

Treier says competition with China has reached a new level. Europe must be able to defend itself against unfair competition and use the available instruments consistently. He rejects blanket measures that hurt Europe itself. Businesses are divided: 55 percent want tougher measures despite disadvantages for their own businesses, while 37 percent oppose them. Among firms with their own China business, 32 to 38 percent would prefer lower trade barriers. Whether an instrument affects an individual business depends on how many Chinese intermediate goods it uses in production.

The 2025 trade balance shows the same shift

The Federal Statistical Office’s foreign trade statistics of 20 February 2026 describe the same shift in euros. In 2025, China was once again Germany’s most important trading partner; imports rose and exports fell. The trade deficit climbed within a year to around 89 billion euros, up from around 67 billion euros the previous year.

The survey measures perceptions. The trade balance measures volumes and values. Both point in the same direction: more Chinese goods in Germany, fewer German goods in China. For a business with no China business of its own, this changes competition at home before its first export invoice is affected. The domestic market becomes the place where suppliers are compared, even without exports to China.

The September survey shows how businesses are responding to this shift. The pressure is now widespread, reaching firms with no direct China business.

“Competition with China has reached a new level.”

Volker Treier, head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Firms with operations in China want different EU instruments

What businesses ask of the EU depends on their ties to China. Companies with no China ties favour reducing strategic dependencies, at 64 percent, and excluding Chinese firms from critical infrastructure, at 54 percent. Firms that export to or invest in China would prefer lower trade barriers (32 to 38 percent). A more market-driven exchange rate is more important to these same businesses (41 to 43 percent). The same chamber question produces two lists of instruments.

Support for individual instruments is lower than for action in principle. Around a third want a more market-driven renminbi exchange rate, and around a third want stronger trade defence measures. 7 percent reject market interventions in principle for fear of retaliation. The chamber thus identifies three camps: protection, openness and restraint.

The majority want EU action, but the type of action depends on whether they earn revenue in China. Which of these instruments the European Commission will adopt remains unclear. Until then, businesses have the options they identified in the survey: product innovation, cost reduction, new markets or cooperation.

Frequently asked questions

Image source: AI-generated (September 2026)

Translated from the German original using artificial intelligence. The German version is authoritative.