The European Commission’s warning to China about unfair trade relations

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency quoting “NTV”, China is threatened by the imposition of punitive tariffs by the European Union on electric cars and sanctions on companies that supply products suitable for war to Russia.

“Orzo La von der Leyen”, the head of the European Union Commission shortly before his trip to Beijing, emphasized these possible measures against China and declared: “The European Union will not tolerate the imbalance in trade relations.

Thus, before the EU-China summit on Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asked Beijing to compromise on trade disputes.

In an interview with AFP, he said: European leaders will not tolerate imbalance in trade relations in the long term. He emphasized: We have tools to protect our market. He also said: In addition, China should reduce trade barriers for European companies. It has doubled to almost 400 billion euros. According to him, it is also in the interest of China to make a decision in the summit with the coordination of the Europeans. He warned of continuing unfair trade practices.

He added: Now Beijing must decide whether it wants a negotiated solution or not. On the other hand, the EU has tools to protect the European market.

Von der Leyen also noted that, in his opinion, it is important to make China “not only as a trading partner and industrial powerhouse, but as a technological competitor, a military power and a global actor that offers different visions of the world order.

According to him, China has changed and after a phase of opening up and reforms, it now follows a policy in which security and control are at the center. In addition, China has systematically reduced its dependence on the world in In recent decades, it has reduced and at the same time increased the world’s dependence on China.

In order to reduce the risks, the European Union has recently introduced several new protection tools. It also includes measures to significantly reduce the European economy’s dependence on raw materials from China. In addition, a competition law investigation into government subsidies for Chinese electric cars is underway, which could lead to punitive tariffs.

Von der Line emphasized that China exports three times more to the European Union than vice versa and said: When three containers come from China to Europe, two of Those containers return empty. This means that the imbalance is evident.

The head of the European Commission also criticized the limited market access for European companies in China. “We are seeing preferential treatment for Chinese companies,” he said. The EU Commission also addressed the issue of direct and indirect subsidies by Beijing.

In September, von der Leyen announced a competitive investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles. did He accused Beijing of cornering global markets with artificially discounted vehicles. In relation to the threat of punitive tariffs of the European Union, the head of the Commission now said that the investigation will take a little time. Meanwhile, one of the senior officials of the European Union emphasized that the European They should expect China’s retaliation as before. He cited the EU’s punitive tariffs on Chinese solar modules in 2013 and Beijing’s threat of sanctions against European wine. The EU official said: “If they want to retaliate, they will probably hit other sectors and politically sensitive sectors.” Subsidies with its important partner China has warned. “Peter Adrian”, the head of DIHK, also called for the opening of new market opportunities in the People’s Republic of China by reducing trade barriers, for example in renewable energy or in the service sector. He emphasized: Where there are market deviations, the European Union must defend itself with anti-dumping measures.

Von der Leyen and Charles Michel are expected , the President of the Council of the European Union will be present in Beijing on Thursday. This is the first face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang since 2019, following a video meeting last year. René Repassi, the vice-chairman of the Chinese delegation in the European Parliament, asked von der Leyen to remind China of its responsibility in the war in Ukraine. Repassi demanded that China should influence Russia.

The European Union accuses Chinese companies of supplying war products and technologies to Russia. and as a result they help Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, to bypass European sanctions. According to diplomats, if Beijing does not remove these suspicions, companies from mainland China could be added to the EU sanctions list for the first time. In June, the European Union imposed punitive measures against three Russian companies based in Hong Kong. Von der Leyen emphasized that there is an “intense dialogue with China”. China will take care. He also said: Von der Leyen wants to ask Beijing to cancel sanctions against European politicians. China imposed entry bans and other measures in 2021, including against the EU representative and former leader of the German Greens, Reinhard Böttich, in response to Beijing’s sanctions against the Uyghur Muslim minority.

Prior to this high-level meeting, pressure from the German Chamber of Foreign Trade (AHK) is also applied to the commission. AHK board member Jens Hildebrandt said in Beijing on Tuesday: “We should no longer allow European companies in China to face the same competitive conditions as the Chinese economy in some areas, while Chinese companies can completely exit the market.” According to Hildebrand, EU representatives should address barriers to entry such as licensing or informal agreements when awarding public contracts. At the same time, he warned against the escalation of tensions that could lead to further isolation. Germany’s economy needs open markets, Hildebrand said.

Last year, China was Germany’s most important trading partner for the seventh time in a row. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, goods worth 299.6 billion euros were traded between the Federal Republic and the People’s Republic.

Across the EU, China was recently the largest partner in It has been the import of goods and the third largest partner in the export of goods.

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