Imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) because they are better than European cars is absolutely the wrong solution to the current trade conflict between Europe and China, said Erik Solheim, former UN Under-Secretary-General.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-nation EU, announced on October 29 that it had concluded its anti-subsidy investigation and decided to impose a definitive countervailing duty on imports of new battery EVs from China for a period of five years.
Solheim, who now serves as the co-chair of the Europe-Asia Center, said in an interview with China Media Group (CMG), that both sides should sit down and talk to find a solution to the current impasse.
"Absolutely putting tariffs on Chinese electric cars because they are superior, they're better than European cars, that's exactly the wrong solution. Protectionism - that’s a race to the bottom. So Europe and China should go into a dialogue to make sure that there is happiness on both sides. One solution can be China investing more and partnering more with European companies so that we can have more jobs in Europe. China should help making sure that European companies can be successful in the Chinese market, that's for sure. We should avoid tariffs when China now is the superior nation in basically all green production," said Solheim.
Solheim said imposing tariffs on imported Chinese EVs would hamper the EV industry in Europe, which relies heavily on Chinese components.
"I hope the European Union and China can find solutions to this, because I think deep down everyone accepts that trade barrier is the wrong thing. I still hope that tariffs on Chinese electric cars can be avoided. And look, also the European electric vehicles are running with Chinese batteries, so even a European vehicle with a Chinese battery is half Chinese. So we are so integrated. We should work together and find solutions which are win-win solutions, creating jobs both in Europe and in China - that will be much better for everyone," he said.
Putting tariffs on Chinese EVs is not the solution to trade impasse: former UN Under-Secretary-General
The recently-approved action plan for stabilizing foreign investment has attracted a new wave of foreign-funded projects across China.
Formulated to ensure stable foreign investment in 2025, the action plan was approved by a State Council executive meeting last month.
Under the plan, China will support pilot regions in effectively implementing opening-up policies related to such areas as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, providing whole-journey services for foreign-invested projects in these sectors.
In a foreign-funded intelligent manufacturing factory in Suzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province, engineers are making final adjustments to a vehicle-mounted display production line with an annual production capacity of 650,000 units, which is expected to contribute an annual increase in output value of 1.3 billion yuan (about 179.5 million U.S. dollars).
"In addition to the new production line, we will invest an additional 50 million yuan (about 6.9 million U.S. dollars) or so to upgrade the old production line this year, which can also realize automated and digitized production," said Ge Fengchen, general manager of Harman Suzhou branch.
In a smart factory of a foreign-funded elevator production company in Guangzhou City of south China's Guangdong Province, two intelligent production lines have just been put into use.
In addition to the Guangzhou factory, this intelligent production line is also scheduled to be put into use in its factories in Shanghai, Tianjin and Chengdu.
"This production line integrates a central control system, a joint control system, and an automatic positioning system. While using the (digital) twin technology on the management platform and automated inspection of the entire process, the production line is able to predict and prevent possible failures," said Jia Yuhui, president of Hitachi Elevator (China) Co., Ltd.
In January alone, a total of 4,229 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established nationwide with 97.59 billion yuan of paid-in foreign investment, increasing by 27.5 percent from December last year, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Commerce.
"In recent years, the utilized foreign investment in the park has maintained a high growth, and a number of high-quality projects have been launched. The paid-in foreign investment in the first quarter of this year is expected to reach 1 billion U.S. dollars, maintaining growth momentum," said Liu Hua, vice chairman of the Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee.
China's favorable policy attracts new wave of foreign-funded projects
