Shoe maker Aokang anti-dumping win 'positive precedent'

By winning a lawsuit on Sunday against the European Union's anti-dumping duties after a six-year battle, Chinese shoemaking giant Aokang Group Co Ltd has encouraged more domestic manufacturers to challenge such unfair policies, experts said.

The European Court of Justice made the final ruling that the European Commission needs to pay all of Aokang's litigation expenses and refund the paid anti-dumping duties to Aokang's trading importers, which are estimated to total around 5 million yuan ($802,000).

As the first Chinese shoemaker to begin proceedings in the EU court in 2006, Aokang overcame a loss in a lower EU court in 2010 to receive the news it had hoped for from the European Court of Justice in the subsequent appeal.

"Aokang was the only company among five enterprises that insisted on lodging the second appeal after losing the case in April 2010, and finally won the case with difficulty," said Wang Hailong, spokesman for Aokang Group, a Wenzhou-based shoemaker that has strategic cooperation partners in Europe, including Geox and Valleverde.

Wang added that the ruling will benefit other trading companies that had been affected by the anti-dumping duty policies.

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