China has accused the European Union of protectionism and “recklessly distorting” the definition of subsidies in response to a new EU investigation into Chinese wind turbine makers.
A Chinese trade protection official made a “solemn statement” on the issue at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday with Martin Lucas, the EU’s director general for trade protection, the trade ministry said.
“Europe’s reckless distortion of the definition of subsidies, as well as the lack of openness and transparency of procedural standards during the investigation, is a protectionist act that damages the environment of fair competition in the name of fair competition,” the statement said.
The investigation launched by the European Union on Tuesday is the latest probe into Chinese companies announced in the past two months under a new EU regulation.
The investigation will look at whether Chinese subsidies give wind turbine companies an unfair advantage in competition for projects in five member countries: Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria.
“We are making full use of the tools we have,” EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in announcing the move.
A Chinese business group in Europe called the investigation an “act of economic coercion” that undermines EU commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
“This action sends a harmful message to the world by discriminating against Chinese businesses and supporting protectionism,” the EU’s China Chamber of Commerce said. statement.
Last week, the EU also announced an investigation into two Chinese solar panel manufacturers vying to build a 455-megawatt solar power plant in Romania. A previous EU investigation into the purchase of 20 electric trains from Bulgaria was dropped last month after a Chinese bidder withdrew from the competition.
Vestager, delivery speech in the United States on Technology and Policy, called this a “whack-a-mole” approach and said the EU needs to address the problem more systematically.
“And we need it before it’s too late,” she said, according to her prepared remarks. “We can’t afford to see what happened with solar panels happen again with electric cars, wind or critical chips.”
China says the investigations are “targeting the obvious” by undermining Chinese companies’ confidence in investment and trade in Europe and impacting global efforts to combat climate change. This is stated in a statement by the Ministry of Trade.
Last October, the EU also launched an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles amid rising exports from China to Europe.
China’s vehicle exports, including trucks and buses, rose 33.2% in the first three months of this year to 1.3 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Wednesday. Exports of electric vehicles rose 7.3% to 248,000 units. Passenger cars made up 1.1 million of the total.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed similar concerns during a recent visit to China. She called for changes to China’s industrial strategy, which she said “could flood our markets with export products that would make it difficult for American firms to compete.”
A German industry spokesman said low-cost Chinese products would help Europe’s environmental goals in the short term but would “destroy our industry” in the medium term.
“We have a dilemma here,” said Maximilian Butek, head of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in East China. “Because right now it’s solar, the next one could be wind, etc. So it’s a balance that policymakers have to find.”
The chamber wants German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to raise German companies’ concerns about access to the Chinese market during his visit to China next week.
Complaints about unfair trade practices are not new, but they have taken on increased importance with the emergence of Chinese companies as competitors both in China and abroad.
“Particularly against the background of the increasing entry of Chinese suppliers into the European market, it is necessary to ensure a level playing field,” the German Chamber said in a survey of member companies published this week.