EU politicizing of 'unfair competition' damaging economic ties with China

There is no denying that trade ties between China and the European Union have encountered headwinds, which stem mainly from some politicians in Brussels who have aligned the bloc with the United States' decoupling policy under the banner of "de-risking", with the Nexperia issue being a case in point.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Monday that the Dutch government should immediately revoke its administrative order concerning semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia.

The issue was triggered by the Dutch government's inappropriate administrative intervention in corporate operations of the overseas subsidiary of Chinese company Wingtech. The spokesperson called for the administrative order to be revoked immediately to create the necessary conditions for negotiations between the companies involved, and to help restore the security and stability of global semiconductor industry and supply chains.

Although China has clearly indicated to the EU that it should fulfill its responsibility to prompt the Dutch government to appropriately settle the Nexperia issue, Brussels has failed to do so.

Moreover, the EU's discriminatory investigations and high tariffs targeting Chinese products, including its "anti-subsidy" investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, trade investigation into wind turbines and railway equipment, and its so-called "unfair competition" investigation into medical device procurement, have all served to sour bilateral economic relations.

It was against this backdrop that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday that China will impose temporary anti-subsidy measures on certain dairy products originating from the EU, starting Tuesday.

In August last year, the ministry launched a countervailing investigation into certain dairy products imported from the EU. Preliminary findings show the dairy products from the EU were unfairly subsidized and were harming China's domestic dairy industry.

Last week, the ministry also announced that it would impose antidumping duties in the range of 4.9 percent to 19.8 percent, for five years, on certain pork and pig by-products imported from some EU companies, after investigations concluded that the EU products were being dumped in the Chinese market, harming the domestic industry.

Imposing antidumping duties are standard trade procedures that are widely adopted by economies around the world. But despite this, on Monday, an EU spokesperson called China's measures "unjustified and unwarranted", alleging that China's investigation was based on "questionable allegations and insufficient evidence".

This is rich coming from the EU, which has imposed unwarranted restrictive trade measures against a rising number of Chinese companies and exports with a reversal of the burden of proof and a lack of procedural transparency.

These issues have not only not been resolved, they have also intensified. In particular, the EU's definition of "foreign subsidies" is overly broad and ambiguous, far exceeding the reasonable scope of international rules and common practices.

The EU's discriminatory measures have not only violated fair competition and World Trade Organization rules but also poisoned the atmosphere of bilateral trade ties and undermined the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.

If the EU truly wishes to deepen China-EU economic and trade cooperation, which caters to both sides' interests, it should abandon its protectionist mindset and lift the unreasonable restrictions imposed on Chinese enterprises by it and individual EU economies. Only by the EU returning to market principles and the spirit of the rule of law can China and the EU achieve true mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. The EU should cease its unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises, exercise prudence in using its Foreign Subsidies Regulation tools, and maintain a fair, just and predictable business environment.

China has always opted for dialogue and consultation in settling trade disputes under the principles of mutual respect and equality. But it will utilize necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. It is high time the EU returned to the negotiation table and resolved its trade friction with China with sincerity and in good faith.