However, the EU folks are not too stupid to realize that much of China's success is a result of erecting its own trade barriers!
How does that jibe with simplistic (and inaccurate) representations of free market capitalism?
The final chapter in China's "success" has not yet been written. It would be much better off if it did not effectively subsidize exports to the US. There is no benefit from accumulating dollars in exchange for goods, particularly at a time when the dollar is declining on exchange markets. In the end, they will have to change their policies, and when they do, they will not have nearly the market penetration that they now have.