Shadowing Practice: Can Europe stand up to China on trade? | The Economist - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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China is a giant threat.
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China is a giant threat.
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And I am really struck.
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When I talk to some of your colleagues at the top of this commission,
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they talk about the threat that China's cheap exports flooding the world
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are so large that you could be talking about the destruction of entire sectors of European industry in a very few years.
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Is that the level of threat that you see?
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I think that that's clearly the perception and I think we have also the figures clearly to underpin it.
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I'm very open about the fact that the trade as we have it right now between China and Europe is simply unsustainable.
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I mean, we cannot create deficit 1 billion euros a day.
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That's right, right?
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The trade deficit is running at 1 billion euros a day.
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1 billion euros a day.
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And we see that
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if you look just from top of my head over the last five years
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that the Chinese export increased by something like 50% and our exports to China decreased by 30%.
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On top of it, we see that a lot of European companies is kind of squeezed out from the third market.
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So really, that's what you would call in basketball the full court pressing.
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And therefore, I believe that we also need very firm,
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regular, structural engagement with Chinese counterparts how to deal with that,
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because clearly we have a huge trade with them.
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We are faced with a lot of problems.
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And I want, again, to prevent some kind of additional drama with the structured engagement,
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because I believe it's clearly necessary.
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But to take a step back,
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I mean, dialogue is great dialogue is lovely,
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but it's pretty clear that China's ambition,
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it's not just about arguments about this or that market access.
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China currently makes, it's 30% of all global industrial production is in China.
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The UN's estimate is that goes to 45% by the end of this decade.
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So almost half of everything made in a factory in the whole world we've made in China,
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and yet they only consume 13% of global production.
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So that is an extraordinary amount of stuff that has to go somewhere.
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America's closing itself off.
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You're the last open rich world market.
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I mean your outgoing top trade officials said this is an imbalance that the world cannot digest.
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So dialogue is great but don't you actually have to threaten really serious measures?
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You know new instruments, the overcapacity instrument people talk about or even you know
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I think that in my experience I really believe that people
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and partners react better to engagement than to threats and
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that I'm sure that I will use this approach until I conclude my public service.
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And I think that what's very clear and I can tell you that we are not shy
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about how we are messaging this to our Chinese counterparts,
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or we would have to resort to more of these safeguards measures simply to protect the European market.
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But what I can also say is that we'll be always respecting international trading law,
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WTO methodology, and we will do it in a very transparent way.
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But there's a gap, isn't there,
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between you describing this absolutely unsustainable flood of Chinese exports into Europe and kind of not wanting to have confrontations,
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wanting to keep dialogue going.
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So let's talk about a recent Chinese threat.
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If you want to have a Chinese factory in Europe,
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you have to use European components,
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you have to hire European workers and you have to transfer technology.
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You're trying the same kind of jujitsu move on China that China used on Western companies so successfully 20,
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30 years ago.
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What was China's response?
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A threat.
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There will be countermeasures.
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This is totally unacceptable.
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So China is ready to fight tough.
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Are you ready to take some pain to show China
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that they have to play a different game if they want to keep access to European markets to invest in Europe?
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I think that I would really advise against any threats or any...
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But they're the ones making the threats.
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They make the threats on 27th of April.
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So what do you do?
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What you do is that we of course are very clear about the fact
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that we are going to fight tooth and nail for every factory,
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for every job in the European Union.
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And I was very very clear about that,
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but I would not be sending,
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you know, the threatening messages over the wires to my Chinese counterparts
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because I want to talk to them and I want to go through,
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I would say, the, you know,
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sectors by sector situation where we clearly have a problem and what are the measures we can undertake together.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills using a transcript from a discussion about the trade relationship between Europe and China. This conversation highlights crucial economic issues and introduces complex vocabulary that will deepen your understanding of international trade. By engaging with this material, you will improve your English pronunciation and fluency while gaining insights into current affairs, which can be especially beneficial for IELTS speaking practice.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Trade deficit: A situation where a country imports more goods than it exports, leading to a negative balance.
- Sustainable: Capable of being maintained over the long term; in economics, it refers to practices that do not deplete resources.
- Industrial production: The output of industries that process raw materials into finished goods.
- Counter measures: Actions taken to counteract or respond to a threat or other actions by another party.
- Structural engagement: A sustained, organized interaction between countries to address specific issues.
- Global production: The total number of goods produced worldwide across all industries.
- Market access: The ability of a company or country to sell products in a foreign market.
Practice Tips
To maximize your learning from this video transcript, consider the following tips:
- Use a shadowing app: Play the video or audio while trying to speak along with the speakers. This technique helps improve your English pronunciation and intonation. The delivery of the speaker is varied; some parts are fast, so focus on maintaining clarity over speed.
- Pause and repeat: After listening to each section, pause the playback and repeat what you heard. This method allows you to practice your articulation and reinforce vocabulary.
- Focus on context: When practicing, pay attention to the context in which phrases are used. Understanding their application will enhance your ability to use them in IELTS speaking practice and conversational English.
- Record yourself: As you practice, record your voice. Listening to the playback will help you identify areas for improvement in pronunciation and fluency—an excellent way to track your progress.
- Engage with the topic: Discuss the concepts presented in the video with friends or study partners. This conversation practice will increase your confidence and deepen your comprehension of the subject matter.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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