BEIJING — Trade tensions between China and Europe are heating up, even as Europeans turn to China for help cooling down.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.Air conditioners had become a hot commodity in Europe even before a deadly heat wave in recent weeks that is the continent’s worst on record — for now.Scientists say it was “unequivocally” caused by climate change, with Europe warming at twice the global average according to the World Meteorological Organization.The record temperatures have set off a frenzy for air conditioners in Europe, where only 20% of the population has them, compared with about 90% of Americans, according to the International Energy Agency.01:10European heat wave turns AC into a political debate00:0000:00Many of the air conditioners being snapped up by long lines of sweaty European customers are made in China, which accounts for about 40% of global air conditioner exports, underscoring the challenges the European Union faces amid a growing trade deficit with Beijing.Europe is “very dependent” on Chinese products, said Alicia García-Herrero, the Hong Kong-based chief economist for Asia-Pacific at French investment bank Natixis, with the run on air conditioners being just one example.“Every time we have a shock, it’s China kind of ‘saving us,’ or that’s China’s narrative,” said García-Herrero, who is from Spain.
“So our position is very weak.”Europe’s predicament is not lost on China, where air conditioning is widely used.Social media videos about the European heat wave have pointedly drawn comparisons to animals in China basking in refrigerated air in barns and pig stalls.“If China stopped selling air conditioners, would European gentlemen still be so keen on the ‘overcapacity’ narrative?” Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account associated with state media, asked in a commentary published this week.A person resting in the shade ...