The Ministry of Commerce has criticised a reported Franco-German push for the EU to develop a trade tool similar to the US’ Section 301 to counter China, calling it “protectionist and unilateralist” and warning that Beijing would “resolutely respond” to any discriminatory measures against Chinese companies or products.
“The EU has itself been a victim of such tools in the past: do not do unto others what you would not have done unto yourself,” it said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The timing of the reported push, which comes as Beijing and Brussels prepare for a second round of trade talks this month, also drew the ministry’s ire.
“If the EU engages in dialogue and consultation with China on the one hand while ratcheting up a show of strength against China on the other, this will seriously damage mutual trust, disrupt the overall consultation process and affect the broader picture of China-EU economic and trade cooperation,” it said.
The ministry urged the European Union to stick to dialogue and said China would watch Brussels’ next moves closely, vowing to “resolutely respond and defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese industry” if the EU introduced “discriminatory” restrictions on Chinese firms or products.
Noah Barkin, a senior adviser with Rhodium Group’s China practice, wrote in his monthly newsletter on Sunday that Paris and Berlin were finalising a policy paper urging Brussels to create a tool that could mirror America’s Section 301 tariff authorities. The tool would enable the bloc to cut China off from the European market “within 24 hours,” according to an unnamed official cited in the newsletter.
Washington used tariffs applied under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to target unfair trade practices by specific countries, with duties imposed after an investigation.
Spanish media outlet Dossier Bruselas reported on Monday that Paris and Berlin were finalising a plan to reform the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument and make it easier for the European Commission to activate it.
Commerce Minister Wang Wentao held a video call with German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche on Monday. The German side said Wang and Reiche used the call to “take stock of the state and perspectives of bilateral trade”, while Beijing said both sides “exchanged opinions” on China-EU and China-Germany trade and economic ties.
Calls have been growing within the EU for the bloc to weaponise its market for Chinese imports as the second round of trade talks approaches. Pascal Canfin, a French member of the European Parliament who sits on its Committee on International Trade, urged Europe to turn its market into “an instrument of power” against China in an article published in Le Grand Continent, a French online journal focused on geopolitics, last week.
“European decision-makers, in both the public and private sectors, will need to show great steadfastness, because the worst outcome would be to set up a power struggle and then back down at the first sign of difficulty,” he said. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
