China will negotiate with the EU on the anti-subsidy investigation of electric vehicles until the last minute

On September 18, local time, Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao hosted a symposium on China-EU electric vehicle industry chain enterprises in Brussels, Belgium, to conduct exchanges on properly resolving the EU's anti-subsidy case against China's electric vehicles and continuing to deepen cooperation in the China-EU electric vehicle industry chain.

Li Chenggang, Chinese Ambassador to the WTO, Fei Shengchao, Ambassador to Belgium, and Zhu Jing, Chargé d'affaires of the Mission to the EU, attended the symposium. Nearly 30 heads of Chinese and European electric vehicle, power battery and component companies and relevant industry associations attended the forum.

Wang Wentao said that cooperation is crucial to the development of the Chinese and European automobile industries. China and Europe have cooperated in the automobile industry for 40 years, with fruitful results and deep integration, and have formed a cooperation pattern of "you have me, and I have you". EU companies are developing vigorously in China, driving the development of China's automobile industry chain. China has also provided EU companies with an open market and a fair competition environment. Over the past 40 years, the most significant feature of the China-EU automobile industry has been cooperation, the most valuable experience has been competition, and the most fundamental foundation has been a fair environment.
 
Wang Wentao pointed out that in the face of the EU's anti-subsidy investigation into China's electric vehicles, China will continue its efforts to negotiate and resolve the issue until the last minute. The rationality, compliance and impartiality of the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation into China’s electric vehicles have aroused widespread doubts. The European side's move will not only hinder China-EU automobile industry cooperation and undermine the confidence of Chinese companies to invest in Europe, but will also seriously affect global cooperation on climate change, and will seriously damage the multilateral trade order based on WTO rules.

Wang Wentao emphasized that the Chinese and European automobile industries have reached an important crossroads, and open cooperation is the best choice. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China pointed out that opening up is a distinctive symbol of Chinese modernization. As China develops through reform and opening up, it will never close the door it has opened again. The Chinese government firmly supports cooperation between Chinese and European companies, opposes "decoupling and breaking links", and firmly safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and EU companies in China.

Representatives attending the meeting said that there is broad space for cooperation in the electric vehicle industry chain between China and Europe. EU companies are not afraid of competition and do not need tariff protection. They oppose trade protectionism and support free trade, market openness and fair competition. They call on Chinese and European automotive industry chain companies to seize opportunities and deepen cooperation. They also hope that China and the EU can properly resolve electric vehicles through dialogue and consultation. Countervailing cases prevent trade frictions from escalating out of control and create a fair industrial cooperation environment.

On top of the 10% standard tariff on imported cars, the European Commission is considering imposing a final tariff of up to 35.3% on electric cars imported from China.

On September 12, a spokesman for the European Commission stated that the price commitment solutions submitted by the China Chamber of Commerce for Machinery and Electronics and all electric vehicle manufacturers regarding the EU electric vehicle countervailing case did not meet the requirements, and the EU intends to reject the relevant price commitment application.

On September 17, Wang Wentao met with Schmidt, Minister of the German Chancellery in Berlin. The two parties focused on in-depth exchanges on the EU's anti-subsidy case against China's electric vehicles and other issues. Schmidt said that Germany strongly hopes that the EU and China can properly resolve the electric vehicle case through dialogue and consultation. It always believes that imposing additional tariffs is not the solution, and has communicated with the European Commission on this issue many times. The package of solutions proposed by the Chinese industry provides a good basis for both parties to reach consensus. Germany will continue to work on the European Commission and play an active role in properly resolving this case.

Previously, people familiar with the matter revealed that the EU plans to hold a vote on September 25 on whether to impose final tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China. Unless 15 EU member states (representing 65% of the EU's population) vote against it, it will pave the way for the EU to impose final tariffs starting in November. However, people familiar with the matter said the voting date could still be changed.