Europe must be tougher on China trade, Bundesbank chief says

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Europe, in its trade dealings with China, needs to act "in a more offensive way" to protect its own interests and those of its companies, [Germany's] Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said.

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When it comes to China, let me only say one thing: China needs Europe more than Europe needs China," Nagel, who sits on the ECB's Governing Council, said.

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We are a strong economy. We are four hundred fifty million people... So we should play the European card in a more offensive way."

Nagel said Europe needed to avoid a trade war with China and should maintain a dialogue but also needed to protect its own markets.

"The point that I would like to say here is that Europe should play the cards in a way that we are more convinced about ourselves, because the most important market for the European is Europe itself," Nagel told a financial event.

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