China's MOFCOM says the voluntary export restrictions seriously violate WTO rules and violate the laws of the market economy and the principle of fair competition.

Ministry statements of this kind are standard operating procedure in trade disputes of this type: Beijing characteristically frames its counterparty's measures as WTO-non-compliant while signalling openness to a negotiated settlement on condition of balanced interests, a formulation that leaves room for both escalation and compromise. The reference to voluntary export restrictions points to the administered-quota mechanism, a device with a long history in managed trade between major economies, where such arrangements have typically functioned as face-saving off-ramps substituting for formal tariffs. The usual sequence in China-EU trade frictions of this kind runs from public posturing through technical-level consultations to either a negotiated price or quantity undertaking or a formal dispute filing, with retaliation against targeted European sectors the standing risk in the background. The tell worth noting is whether the rhetoric stays at the level of WTO principles or shifts to named countermeasures; the former has historically preceded negotiation, the latter escalation. For the currencies involved, these episodes have tended to matter more through the sentiment channel and sector-specific exposure than through any durable move in the exchange rate itself.