China expresses concern about EU steel protectionism

BEIJING - China on Friday expressed concern over the European Commission's anti-dumping investigations into Chinese corrosion-resistant steel, the latest in a series of trade measures against Chinese products this year.

"China is paying close attention to and worried about the European Union (EU)'s tendency toward steel protectionism," said Wang Hejun, a senior official of the Ministry of Commerce.

The EU has frequently resorted to restrictive measures since the start of 2016 as it blames Chinese steel for its glutted industry.

"It is baseless and not objective as Europe's steel woes stem from a weak economy," Wang said, urging the EU to be rational and take an objective view instead of adopting protectionist policies that impede competition.

The problem can only be solved through internal restructuring and reform and international economic cooperation, Wang said.

China has always adhered to the ideas of cooperation and mutual development and is willing to push forward dialogues to address trade friction and create a sound environment for global economic recovery, Wang said.

Wang also called on the EU to abandon the surrogate country approach when calculating anti-dumping measures against Chinese exports.

Under the surrogate country approach, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) use costs of production in a third country to calculate the value of products from countries on its "non-market economy" list, which includes China. The practice allows countries to easily levy high tariffs.

In accordance with Article 15 of the accession protocol signed when China joined the WTO in 2001, the surrogate country approach expires on December 11, 2016.