Nebuchadnezzar saw a great image whose “head was of fine gold” (Daniel 2:32, NKJV). Years later Daniel saw the first of four beasts rise from the sea, a lion that was “lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it” (Daniel 7:4, NKJV). At Revelation Rosetta Stone we read the gold and the lion as China.
This week Europe’s trade chief went to Beijing to ask for relief from a trade deficit he called “unsustainable,” and he left with a first understanding on hybrid cars, tariffs and rare earths. Europe is negotiating the terms of its dependence with the power it cannot ignore. Is Europe going cap in hand before the head of gold?
What happened this week
Day one: “unsustainable.” On Oct. 8, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič opened two days of talks in Beijing with a post on X: “Day one in China, with one goal: begin rebalancing our … unsustainable trade deficit” (CNA/AFP). He named three priorities: surging imports in strategically important sectors, more European exports to China, and better access to critical raw materials, including clearer export licensing for rare earths after China imposed restrictions last year. CNA put Europe’s problem plainly: “Europe can ill afford to anger China,” which could throttle supplies of rare earth minerals vital to the continent’s industry.
The size of the gap. The talks capped a push launched in June to narrow a deficit of about €1 billion a day. The EU’s trade deficit with China came to nearly €360 billion in 2025 and is up 12 percent so far this year (Politico). Going in, France and Germany had pressed for tough action if China failed to curb its export glut; President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for a “credible instrument” to respond quickly to any escalation (CNA/AFP). In August, Chinese cars made up one in eight sold in the bloc, driven mainly by hybrids (Politico).
Oct. 9: an understanding on hybrids. On Friday Šefčovič told reporters in Beijing, “We have reached a shared understanding to moderate China’s export of hybrids and plug-in hybrids to the European Union. This opens the prospect of cutting China’s exports by more than a half” (Politico). The comparison is with how those exports were projected to grow over the next four years without a deal. In practical terms, he said, “several millions of car exports from China to the European Union” would be prevented. He also said, “It is the first time that China has accepted to moderate its exports without going through the phase of prior trade tension,” meaning the investigations that normally come before safeguards under World Trade Organization rules (The Guardian).
Tariffs and rare earths. Beijing agreed to lower duties on European goods worth €4 billion, from olive oil to footwear, which Šefčovič said would save exporters €225 million. “We have reached a shared understanding to further facilitate China’s export licensing for rare earths and permanent magnets,” he said (Politico). China’s Commerce Ministry said it is “willing … to continue facilitating the approval of export licenses for rare earths and permanent magnets destined for the EU” (The Guardian).
A first step, not a treaty. “It is a crucial first step,” Šefčovič said. “But only a first step in the process of rebalancing” (Politico). How the hybrid exports will be held down has not been fully disclosed. Šefčovič declined to give specifics before EU leaders mandate the Commission to move forward, and would not say whether the arrangement allows safeguards, a mix of import quotas and tariffs. China’s 16-point statement gave no detail on how exports would be restrained. It did refer to “procedures concerning company price undertakings” for hybrids, which suggests higher minimum prices may be one tool (The Guardian). Beijing has firmly opposed import quotas (CNA/AFP). Šefčovič will report to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU leaders at their summit in Brussels on Thursday, Oct. 15. The two sides will hold a video call in January and meet again in March 2027 (Politico).
The head of gold and the lion made to stand
"This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze." (Daniel 2:32, NKJV)
"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it." (Daniel 7:4, NKJV)
Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 are two views of the same history. The king saw it as a statue of metals, precious at the head but common at the feet. The prophet saw it as beasts rising from a churning sea. In both, the first kingdom stands at the front of the line: the head of gold, the lion.
The lion in Daniel 7 does not stay a beast on all fours. It is lifted up from the earth, set on two feet like a man, and given a man’s heart. It is the picture of a power raised up and made to stand among the nations, one that others must face and deal with on its own terms. At Revelation Rosetta Stone we read that card as China.
Daniel also reminds us who does the lifting. “He removes kings and raises up kings” (Daniel 2:21, NKJV). The lion does not stand itself up; it “was lifted up” and “made to stand.” The nations bargain in Beijing, but the God of heaven rules over all of it.
Cap in hand?
Look at the posture. Europe did not summon China to Brussels. Its trade chief traveled to Beijing, called the deficit unsustainable, and asked Beijing to restrain its own exports. The relief Europe won on hybrids is a concession China agreed to give, by methods China helped shape and has not fully spelled out. Europe’s factories still depend on Chinese rare earths, and the licensing that keeps them running is something Beijing says it is “willing” to keep facilitating. Even the tariff cuts are China’s to grant.
Europe is not powerless. France and Germany pressed for tough action, and Brussels has trade tools of its own. But Šefčovič chose the negotiated road, saying a trade war is “very difficult to stop” once it is declared (The Guardian). One of the world’s great economic blocs is treating China as the pole it must rebalance around.
Two weeks ago we asked whether the lion was standing up as Xi Jinping went to Washington. This week another great power went to Beijing. Is this the lion being made to stand on two feet like a man, with the nations coming to it to settle the terms of their dependence? It’s worth watching to see if the vision is being fulfilled.
Watch. Look up.
— Revelation Rosetta Stone Staff