BEIJING, China — Beijing mentioned Wednesday it was “extremely involved” over a European Union probe into Chinese language wind turbine suppliers, the most recent transfer by Brussels concentrating on the nation over inexperienced tech subsidies suspected of undermining honest competitors.
The EU is in search of to massively ramp up renewable power because it goals for net-zero greenhouse fuel emissions by 2050 whereas transferring away from extreme reliance on cheaper Chinese language expertise.
The bloc’s competitors chief, Margrethe Vestager, introduced the inquiry into Chinese language wind turbine suppliers throughout a speech Tuesday in america.
She mentioned the investigation would look into the event of wind parks in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria.
READ: EU probes Chinese language wind turbine suppliers over subsidies
Beijing hit again on Wednesday, with overseas ministry spokeswoman Mao Nig slamming EU “protectionism”, telling journalists it “protects backwardness… and causes a number of losses”.
“We urge the European facet to abide by WTO guidelines and market ideas, and China will firmly safeguard the respectable rights and pursuits of Chinese language enterprises,” she mentioned.
“China is very involved concerning the discriminatory measures taken by the European facet towards Chinese language enterprises and even industries,” Mao added.
US issues
The EU’s probe comes on the heels of latest criticism from america over China’s extra industrial capability.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this week rounded off a visit to the world’s second-largest economic system, saying Washington “won’t settle for” underpriced Chinese language items flooding the worldwide market.
READ: Yellen warns China industrial subsidies pose threat to world economic system
The US is worried that Beijing subsidies are resulting in extra manufacturing capability than world markets can take in, leading to a surge of low cost exports in sectors akin to photo voltaic and electrical automobiles and stifling the expansion of these industries elsewhere.
Yellen on Monday mentioned huge Chinese language authorities help greater than a decade in the past had led to below-cost metal flooding the worldwide market, which “decimated industries internationally and in america”.
“I’ve made clear that President Biden and I cannot settle for that actuality once more,” she informed a information convention on the US ambassador’s residence, including that America’s allies and companions shared related issues.
A number of probes
The EU’s wind turbine probe follows earlier investigations concentrating on Chinese language subsidies for photo voltaic panels, electrical vehicles and trains, as commerce tensions warmth up with Beijing.
Brussels launched its latest probe underneath guidelines that got here into power final 12 months and search to stop overseas subsidies from undermining honest competitors within the EU.
READ: China rebukes EU after formal launch of EV subsidy probe
Chinese language wind generators are at the moment being provided in Europe at costs as much as 50 p.c decrease than European-made ones, in line with the WindEurope trade foyer.
The EU opened its first probe underneath the Overseas Subsidies Regulation in February, concentrating on a subsidiary of Chinese language rail large CRRC. That investigation was closed after the subsidiary withdrew from a young in Bulgaria to produce electrical trains.
A second probe introduced final week targets Chinese language-owned photo voltaic panel producers in search of to construct and function a photovoltaic park in Romania, partly financed by European funds.
Two separate consortiums are underneath investigation in that case, one in every of which features a subsidiary of China’s Longi Inexperienced Vitality Know-how — the world’s largest photo voltaic panel producer.
The second is made up of two subsidiaries of China’s state-owned Shanghai Electrical group.
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Beneath a special algorithm, Brussels final September began a probe into subsidies for Chinese language electrical vehicles.
