China urges EU to get back to right track of resolving trade disputes through consultations: commerce ministry

BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China has urged the European Commission to take concrete actions to implement its political will and get back to the right track of resolving trade frictions through consultations, said a spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

The remarks came after the commission's proposal to impose definitive countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles from China had obtained the necessary support from Member States of the European Union (EU) for the adoption of tariffs.

"China firmly opposes the draft final ruling of the EU side, but has also noted its political will to continue to resolve the issue through negotiations," said the spokesperson, noting that technical teams from both sides will continue with their negotiations on Oct. 7.

The ministry urged the EU side to be clearly aware of the harm of imposing additional tariffs, as it will not solve any problems but only waver Chinese enterprises' confidence and resolve in and prevent them from conducting investing cooperation in Europe.

"China's position is consistent and clear. China firmly opposes the unfair, illegal and unreasonable protectionist practices of EU in this case, and resolutely opposes the EU additional countervailing duty on Chinese electric vehicles," said the spokesperson.

The EU's protectionist practices seriously violate WTO rules and disrupt the normal international trade order, hindering not just the China-EU trade and investment cooperation but also the EU's green transition, with a negative impact on global climate response, the spokesperson noted.

The spokesperson said China has implemented the consensus reached by leaders of the two sides, always borne in mind the overall interests of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, and always upheld the utmost sincerity in properly handling differences through dialogue and consultation.

Since the end of June, both sides have held more than 10 technical consultations involving sub-ministry department chiefs and two vice-ministerial consultations on the case.

On Sept. 19, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and European Commission Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis held comprehensive, in-depth and constructive talks, said the spokesperson, adding that they both clearly expressed the political will to resolve differences through consultation and agreed to launch price commitment talks to avoid escalating the trade frictions.

In the following 14 days, technical teams from both sides conducted six rounds of consultations. Over the process, again and again, the Chinese side has fully listened to the demands and opinions of the Chinese and European industries, showing its open and cooperative attitude and exercising maximum flexibility, according to the spokesperson.

"China will take all possible measures to firmly defend the interests of Chinese enterprises," the spokesperson added.