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Kinling Lo

China will continue to support the “normal trade and investment” of Chinese carmakers in Europe despite a spat over tariff hikes, the Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) said as it still seeks to negotiate toward a resolution on levies that kicked in for Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) this week.
At a regular news briefing on Thursday, Mofcom spokesman He Yadong responded to a report alleging that China had told its car manufacturers to halt big investments in the European countries that supported tariffs on Chinese EVs.
“China has always supported and encouraged any normal trade and investment opportunities in the Chinese automobile industry,” He said when asked if Beijing could confirm the report by Reuters on Wednesday.
“China will uphold an open and market-oriented approach, and will stand on grounds of fair competition when we cooperate with countries in the automobile industry.”
Beijing and Brussels have still shown their intention to continue with trade talks despite the EU tariffs on imported Chinese EVs having kicked in on Wednesday.


While such discussions would likely feature less wiggle room than the previous rounds of talks, given that the tariffs – as high as 43.5 per cent – have already kicked off, the two sides appeared to be still exploring available bargaining chips, which include making deals with individual Chinese carmakers on how they can adjust the price and volume of their imports for the European market.
EU member countries voted to implement tariffs on Chinese EVs for five years after a year-long investigation concluded that Chinese government subsidies had allowed Chinese cars to unfairly compete in the EU market and had undermined the European job industry.
Since then, China has officially said it invited EU officials to visit China “as soon as possible” to advance discussions. Bloomberg reported on Thursday that European representatives will be sent to China, but the dates are unspecified and the EU has yet to officially confirm a trip.
The European Commission has reiterated its willingness to negotiate price undertakings with individual exporters, as allowed under EU and WTO rules.
Earlier this year, China’s top EV carmaker, BYD, announced it was considering building another factory in Europe after announcing that the first production plant would be in Hungary.
Another Chinese carmaker, Geely, was also reported in September to be scouting for a location to build its production line, but no decision has been confirmed yet.
Ten EU members, including France, Poland and Italy, supported tariffs in a vote this month, and five members, including Germany and Hungary, opposed them. Spain and Sweden were among the 12 that abstained.




German carmakers and politicians have slammed the EU tariffs. The German Association of the Automotive Industry’s president, Hildegard Mueller, warned that “the countervailing tariffs increase the risk of a far-reaching trade conflict” and urged further negotiations.
Germany is home to Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which have heavy business interests in China.
Both the US and Canada have launched 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese EVs this year.
Meanwhile, Chinese industrial representatives have spoken out against the EU tariffs since they went into effect this week. China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) spokesman Sun Xiao said at a press conference on Thursday that they found the EU’s tariffs decision “regretful” and were sternly against “trade protectionism”.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also said on Wednesday, after the tariffs took hold, that the EU’s decision was “not acceptable” and that the tariffs were “unfair”.
The Association has also called for a resolution under the World Trade Organization framework and urged more bilateral talks.


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Beijing says the ‘normal trade and investment’ of China’s carmakers in Europe will be supported


Beijing says the ‘normal trade and investment’ of China’s carmakers in Europe will be supported.


Amid EV row with EU, China to ‘stand on grounds of fair competition’, Mofcom says

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing says the ‘normal trade and investment’ of China’s carmakers in Europe will be supported

Beijing says the ‘normal trade and investment’ of China’s carmakers in Europe will be supported