German vice chancellor calls for joint efforts with China against protectionism

China

German vice chancellor calls for joint efforts with China against protectionism

2024-06-22 22:36 Last Updated At：06-23 15:17

Germany and China should work together against the tendency of protectionism and to avoid separated markets, said German Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck on Saturday.

Habeck arrived in Shanghai on Saturday afternoon after meeting with top Chinese officials in Beijing, where they discussed climate change, the green transition, and tariffs.

Speaking at a press conference in Shanghai, Habeck underscored the potential detrimental effects of protectionism, warning that it could significantly harm the global market.

"Everywhere we see tendencies of protectionism, we see tariffs, we see local content rules, we see production rules. Therefore, the export-oriented countries like China and Germany must work against this tendency of separated markets," he said.

"I don't want them, I hope nobody in Europe wants the tariffs. Therefore, we should work to avoid it, and the possibility is there," he added.

Habeck cautioned that EU tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles could complicate the global trade landscape, reiterating that open markets are the optimal path for both China and the EU to flourish.

"We are always thriving for competition. The consequences of the tariffs are hard to foresee. In the end, you can say that tariffs make products more expensive and less available for people. So, we should avoid a system where we have a rise of tariffs, counter-tariffs, and then a scale-up of all forms of tariffs. I would say, as the minister for economic affairs, that is a dangerous development. And it destroyed the market in a way," said Habeck.

The European Commission unveiled a preliminary decision on June 12 to impose provisional tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China after its anti-subsidy investigation. The pre-disclosed duties range from 17.4 percent to 38.1 percent, in addition to the standard 10 percent vehicle duty already in place.

CNSA official on Chang'e-6's major breakthroughs

2024-06-27 22:50 Last Updated At：23:07

The Chang'e-6 mission made three major technological breakthroughs and a world-first accomplishment, an official of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said at a press conference about the lunar exploration mission in Beijing on Thursday.

Vice Administrator of CNSA Bian Zhigang noted that the Chang'e-6 mission is a lunar exploration mission adopted with most advanced technologies to date in China's space exploration endeavors.

"The Chang'e-6 mission made breakthroughs in lunar retrograde orbit design and control, intelligent sampling on the moon and lunar ascent from its far side, and realized the first unmanned automatic sample collection and return from the far side of the moon in the world, setting another world record for China's aerospace program," Bian said.

Samples collected from the far side of the moon may help mankind further study the planet, said Li Chunlai, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e-6 mission, at the press conference.

"The samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken Basin may be very different from the samples collected from the front side, which is conducive to a more comprehensive understanding of the geological evolution history of the moon," Li said.

The mission also carried out cooperation with the European Space Agency, France, Italy and Pakistan on four scientific payloads to obtain valuable first-hand scientific data.

"We promised the orbiter and lander will each reserve a volume of 10 kg for international payloads. We fulfilled the promise and accumulated experience for us to perform more complex tasks in the future," Hu Hao, chief designer of the Chang'e-6 mission, told reporters.