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EU trade chief visits China amid dumping row

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-07 13:30

Besides world trade talks, a series of bilateral issues are high on the agenda.

The commission said Ashton would raise issues such as barriers to investment, protection for intellectual property and cooperation on trade and investment in green technologies.

"We must continue to build confidence in order to realize our full potential and deal effectively with any issues that arise, especially in the face of the economic downturn," Ashton said.

Protectionism Rift

Ashton's visit came as China is increasingly concerned about the EU's frequent application of anti-dumping measures against Chinese products this year.

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The Chinese Ministry of Commerce voiced opposition to the arbitrary use of anti-dumping rules and called on the EU to resist the temptation of protectionism, especially when the two sides need to join hands to grapple with the economic downturn by seeking new trade and investment opportunities.

Song Zhe, the Chinese ambassador to the EU, last week urged the 27-nation bloc restrain its use of anti-dumping measures against imports from China, calling for more dialogue and cooperation.

"We saw reemergence of anti-dumping cases against China recently. An increasing number of Chinese enterprises received unfair treatment. We are very concerned about this," Song told the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament, which is newly formed after June elections.

"But we believe between China and Europe, there is more cooperation than competition, more opportunities than challenges. At present, it is urgent to strengthen economic and trade cooperation by maintaining mutual flow of trade and investment and creating more business opportunities," he said.

Currently, China and the EU are one of the most important trade partners to each other. Bilateral trade volume reached US$425.6 billion in 2008.

Mutual investment also increased rapidly. The EU have made a total investment of US$63.9 billion and operating more than 20,000 companies in China. In recent years, Chinese companies are beginning to invest actively in Europe.

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