The European Union is looking for a “loyal competition” with China and not leveling from the bottom of wages and environmental standards, the European Commission, in charge of ecological transition and competition on Monday.
Deep friction tends to economic relations between the 27 EU and Beijing countries.
Brussels fears that an overabundant manufacturing production, fueled by massive public subsidies, aggravates a considerable trade deficit and that the EU is flooded with cheap Chinese products, to the detriment of European companies.
Speaking during a visit to Beijing upstream of an important EU-China summit to be held in the city this month, Teresa Ribera rejected the accusations of China that the Union would engage in “protectionism”.
“We Europeans do not want to embark on a race for low -income, the deterioration in labor rights or the deterioration of environmental standards,” said Teresa Ribera.
“It is obvious that we could not be in good position if our markets were flooded, which could weaken us with prices that do not reflect the real costs,” she added.
In October, the EU imposed additional import taxes up to 35% on Chinese electric vehicles and investigated Chinese solar panels.
Recognizing that in terms of green energy, the EU could “benefit in the very short term” from access to bons -markets from Chinese, it above all warned that “this could destroy the possibility of” long -term investments in the future of the Union.
– standoff with the USA –
Teresa Ribera’s visit comes as Beijing seeks to improve his relations with the EU to counterbalance in the United States, whose President Donald Trump launched all-out customs of customs rights and withdrew his country from international climate agreements.
“I do not think that we have seen a great economy in the past, a large country, which decides to isolate itself in such a clear way,” she said to AFP.
“It’s a shame. The Chinese may think that the United States has given them an excellent opportunity to be much more important on the international scene,” she noted.
This visit also takes place while the EU is negotiating with the United States in commercial matters.
Donald Trump upset months of negotiations on Saturday by announcing that he would impose customs duties of 30% on European products entering the United States if no agreement was found by August 1.
This Monday, the European Commission reacted by proposing possible reprisals up to 72 billion euros to the 27 EU countries, if Washington imposed this surcharge by 30%.
– “Big margin of improvement” –
An outcome of trade tensions linked to Brussels concerns with regard to Chinese industrial overcapacity “will come” but “not today,” said Teresa Ribera, after a meeting on Monday with Chinese Vice Prime Minister Ding Xuexiang in Beijing.
Teresa Ribera welcomed herself for having had a “deep and positive” exchange with Chinese officials, but judged that there was still “a big margin of improvement”, during a press conference after this meeting.
“To progress, we have to identify what are the concern on each side,” she said.
Asked a little earlier about the possibility of an agreement, she replied: “Who knows? We will do our best.”
However, she insisted that European digital competition rules – often denounced by Donald Trump as “non -tariff obstacles” to trade – were not on the agenda.
“It is a question of sovereignty,” noted the European official. “We will not compromise the way we intend to defend our citizens, our society, our values and our market.”
Posted on July 14 at 5:15 p.m., AFP