SEOUL, August 22 (AJU PRESS) -Chinese officials and industry representatives on Wednesday strongly condemned the European Commission (EC) for its recent draft findings in an anti-subsidy investigation against Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). They warn that the EU's protectionist actions seriously undermine mutual trust and cooperation between China and the EU, damaging Chinese firms' confidence in the EU market.
The EC's announcement, which maintains hefty tariff rates against Chinese EV makers, has created further obstacles for the ongoing consultations between the two sides aimed at resolving the dispute, according to experts. They note a stark contrast between China's sincerity in resolving the issue through dialogue and the EU's intensifying protectionism and crackdown on Chinese companies and products.
In response, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has launched a countervailing investigation into certain dairy products from the EU at the request of the domestic industry. Chinese experts state this investigation, initiated under WTO rules, is fundamentally different from the EC's politically-motivated, protectionist probe that violates WTO regulations.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson criticized the EC's actions as typical trade protectionism that ignores facts, disrespects WTO rules, disrupts the EU's green transition, and will ultimately harm the EU and others. Despite over 10 rounds of technical consultations since June, the EU's protectionist move is seen as damaging China-EU economic and trade cooperation and setting a problematic precedent for resolving similar issues.
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