the first representative of the serbian chamber of commerce in china: anti-subsidy tariffs are a "false sense of security" given to companies by the eu
2024-09-22
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at the 2024 belt and road trade and investment forum held in beijing on september 20, jelena, chief representative of the serbian chamber of commerce in china, said in an interview with a reporter from the beijing daily client that the anti-subsidy tax measures are a "false sense of security" given by the eu to european companies. if fully implemented, it will not only hurt european and chinese companies, but consumers will also become the biggest victims.
the china-serbia free trade agreement officially came into effect on july 1 this year. this is the first free trade agreement signed between china and a central and eastern european country. jelena said that the number of serbian companies in china is gradually increasing, and the signing of the free trade agreement has opened a new chapter in the economic relations between serbia and china.
serbia is an important partner in the joint construction of the belt and road initiative. jelena said that the belt and road initiative is a true international public initiative from which many countries have benefited. the belt and road initiative is the pillar of serbia-china cooperation. projects such as the hungary-serbia railway have greatly promoted serbia's infrastructure construction level and produced positive spillover effects on economic and trade development.
this year marks the beginning of the second decade of the belt and road initiative. jelena believes that in addition to traditional infrastructure, the belt and road initiative will become greener, healthier and more digital, and there is huge potential for cooperation in related fields. serbia is very interested in china's inexpensive and high-quality electric vehicles. at the beijing international auto show in april this year, the serbian chamber of commerce supported some serbian companies to cooperate with chinese partners. she said that china is a leader in the green industry, and serbia hopes to see more cooperation and products from china, all of which can help serbia go further in achieving decarbonization goals and environmental protection.
china and the european union are in intensive consultations on the issue of anti-subsidy duties on chinese electric vehicles. serbia is one of the eu candidate countries. jelena said that first of all, we must see that supply and demand are issues of global dimension, not local dimension. a country will not produce only enough products to supply its own market. secondly, she believes that the eu's anti-subsidy duties are untenable in many ways, are not helpful to the european economy, and delay their pace of catching up in the field of electric vehicle innovation, while china is already in the leading position. jelena said that anti-subsidy measures are a kind of "false sense of security" that europe is giving to their companies, and they are also refusing to let their people get better and cheaper products that can help combat climate change.
"if the countervailing duties are fully implemented, i don't think it is a good strategic choice. it will hurt companies in countries like germany and will cause unnecessary setbacks for chinese companies. consumers will be the biggest victims, as they deserve better products. it will also delay efforts on the green agenda, such as decarbonization," said jelena.
how should china and europe resolve the issue of anti-subsidy duties on electric vehicles? jelena believes that the two sides should have more dialogues to find areas for cooperation, which is what is currently lacking. in recent years, china and europe have reached an agreement on the protection of geographical indication products, which can be expanded to more areas of common interest and more dialogues can be conducted to find a common basis for cooperation over a longer period of time.
the 2024 belt and road trade and investment forum was hosted by the china chamber of international commerce. with the theme of "focusing on high-quality development and building a sustainable future", the forum discussed topics such as supply chain stability, interconnection, smart manufacturing, and low-carbon development. many ambassadors to china and more than 500 political and business representatives from 66 countries and regions attended the forum.
