China slams EU subsidy probes as ‘egregious’ and discriminatory

China’s Ministry of Commerce has expressed strong opposition to recent European Union investigations into Chinese companies and vowed to use necessary means to defend their rights.

“The European Union has recently launched a series of Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) investigations targeting Chinese enterprises … such actions are egregious, with clear targeting and discriminatory intent,” ministry spokesman He Yadong said during a press conference on Thursday.

Last week, Brussels launched an in-depth probe into Nuctech, a partially state-owned maker of security inspection products such as airport scanning equipment, following a similar probe in November against state-owned train producer China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) over its bids for light rail trains in Portugal.

The spokesman said the probes had seriously undermined Chinese investment and operations in Europe.

The ministry concluded in January that the EU’s FSR enforcement constituted a trade and investment barrier, costing Chinese firms an estimated €2.1 billion (US$2.46 billion) in direct and indirect losses.

Problems identified by the ministry in these EU probes – including insufficient evidence for initiating cases, excessive enforcement, a reversal of the burden of proof, and a lack of procedural transparency in the investigations – have only amplified in recent months, He said.

  

​Read More