china-eu consultations on eu anti-subsidy case against china for electric vehicles have made positive progress
2024-09-21
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china-eu consultations have made positive progress.
on september 20, according to the news released by the ministry of commerce, on the morning of september 19, local time, chinese minister of commerce wang wentao met with european commission executive vice president and trade commissioner valdis dombrovskis at the eu headquarters to conduct comprehensive, in-depth and constructive consultations on the eu's anti-subsidy case against china's electric vehicles. both sides clearly expressed their political will to resolve differences through consultations, agreed to continue to promote negotiations on the price commitment agreement, and fully committed to reaching a solution acceptable to both sides through friendly dialogue and consultations.
earlier on september 18, wang wentao hosted a symposium for chinese and european electric vehicle industry chain companies in brussels, belgium. this was the first high-level dialogue between the chinese and european automotive industries in brussels, belgium, after the eu launched an anti-subsidy investigation on chinese electric vehicles. about 30 chinese and european electric vehicle industry associations, including saic, byd, catl, volkswagen, mercedes-benz, and bmw, participated. chinese and european electric vehicle production and supply chain companies all expressed that they did not want the eu to impose additional tariffs, and strongly called on both china and the eu to use the "urgent time window" as soon as possible to find a proper solution through dialogue and consultation.
"i insisted on coming here for consultations because i believe the eu will abide by the rules." wang wentao pointed out at the symposium that in the face of the eu's anti-subsidy investigation on chinese electric vehicles, china will continue its efforts to resolve the issue through negotiations until the last minute.
according to information previously released by the ministry of commerce, wang wentao held talks with valdis dombrovskis, executive vice president of the european commission and commissioner for trade, on september 19 to discuss the eu's anti-subsidy case against china's electric vehicles.
ministry of commerce: open cooperation is the best choice
at the china-eu electric vehicle industry chain enterprise symposium held on september 18, wang wentao said that cooperation is crucial to the development of the china-eu automobile industry. after 40 years of cooperation in the china-eu automobile industry, a cooperation pattern of "you are in me, i am in you" has been formed. the vigorous development of eu enterprises in china has driven the development of china's automobile industry chain, and china has also provided an open market and a fair competition environment for eu enterprises. over the past 40 years, the most notable feature of the china-eu automobile industry has been cooperation, the most valuable experience has been competition, and the most fundamental foundation has been a fair environment.
he pointed out that the eu's anti-subsidy investigation on chinese electric vehicles has aroused widespread doubts about its rationality, compliance and fairness. this move by the eu will not only hinder china-eu automotive industry cooperation and undermine the confidence of chinese companies to invest in europe, but will also seriously affect global cooperation in addressing climate change and will seriously damage the multilateral trading order based on wto rules.
wang wentao stressed that the current china-eu automotive industry has reached an important crossroads, and open cooperation is the best choice. the chinese government firmly supports cooperation between chinese and european companies, opposes "decoupling and breaking the chain", and firmly safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of chinese companies and eu companies in china.
"we urge the eu to abandon trade protectionism, see clearly the negative impact of trade barriers and tariff measures, and promote healthy competition and cooperation between the china-eu automotive industries through an open and fair market mechanism." at the symposium, the eu chamber of commerce in china called on china and the eu to resolve trade frictions through dialogue and consultation and avoid escalation of conflicts.
on september 19, the european union chamber of commerce in china issued a statement saying that china and the eu agreed to continue to promote negotiations on the price commitment agreement and make every effort to reach a mutually acceptable solution through friendly dialogue. the chamber of commerce believes that this consultation shows that china and the eu are committed to resolving common concerns through negotiations and avoiding escalation of trade frictions. this is an important step towards resolving issues of concern to the chinese and european business communities, and is also a positive signal that chinese and european electric vehicle supply chain companies generally expect.
in october 2023, the european commission (ec) launched an anti-subsidy investigation into chinese-made electric vehicles. on july 4, 2024, the ec released the preliminary findings of the investigation, deciding to impose temporary anti-subsidy tariffs on chinese-made electric vehicles for a period of four months starting from july 5.
on august 20, the european commission pre-disclosed its recommendations for final ruling measures in its anti-subsidy investigation into chinese electric vehicles, proposing a five-year anti-subsidy tax ranging from 17% to a maximum of 36.3% on pure electric vehicles produced in china by china and the european union; and a 9% anti-subsidy tax on tesla electric vehicles produced in china.
next, the european commission will seek the opinions of eu member states, and the final proposal will be written into law after a vote by the 27 eu member states in october for a period of five years. if 15 countries representing 65% of the eu population vote against it, the proposal can be overturned. previously, in the vote on the preliminary ruling measures that have no legal effect in july, 12 eu member states supported it (including 2 who did not participate in the vote, which was considered support), 4 opposed it, and 11 abstained.
at the forum, more than 10 representatives of chinese and european companies and industry associations expressed their opinions and suggestions. some chinese automakers once again stressed the discriminatory treatment they suffered in this case and the improper calculation method of subsidies, hoping that the chinese government would protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises.
calls grow in europe for a negotiated solution to tariffs on chinese electric vehicles
in recent times, there have been growing calls in europe to resolve the issue of electric vehicle tariffs through dialogue and consultation.
before hosting the china-europe electric vehicle industry chain enterprise symposium, wang wentao visited italy and germany successively.
italian deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation tajani said, "i recently spoke with european commission executive vice president valdis dombrovskis and asked the european commission to handle this case strictly in accordance with wto rules and relevant eu laws and regulations to avoid disrupting china-eu economic and trade cooperation. the italian government hopes that the eu and china can reach a solution through dialogue and consultation, and welcomes chinese auto companies to choose to invest in italy."
german vice chancellor and minister of economic affairs and climate protection habeck said that germany supports free trade, welcomes chinese automobile and parts companies to invest in europe, and does not agree to impose tariffs on chinese electric vehicles. the package solution proposed by the chinese industry is an important step forward, laying a good foundation for the next round of eu-china consultations, and expects the european commission to make a constructive response. germany will urge the european commission to seek a proper solution with china and make every effort to avoid trade conflicts.
earlier, before the end of his visit to china, spanish prime minister sanchez talked about whether spain would reconsider its position on the eu's additional tariffs on chinese electric vehicles. he said that he was reconsidering its position on the issue and called on the eu to review its decision to impose additional tariffs on chinese electric vehicles.
countries such as sweden and hungary have already publicly expressed their opposition.
chinese and european automakers also oppose the european commission's imposition of tariffs on chinese electric vehicles. at the forum, chinese and european automakers said they did not want to see the eu impose anti-subsidy duties on chinese electric vehicles, and hoped that china and the eu would resolve the reasonable concerns of both sides through dialogue and consultation as soon as possible. european automakers and industry associations said that the automotive industry is a global industry, and the interests of chinese and european companies are deeply intertwined. if the european commission takes measures, it will not only hurt chinese companies, but also european companies. protection will not bring about technological progress and competitiveness improvement. we support free trade and market opening and oppose protectionist measures.
zhang bing, financial reporter of beijing news shell
editor: wang jinyu
proofread by yang xuli
