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China Concludes EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation Since July Constitutes Trade Barriers, Seeks Talks

Jan 9, 2025, 05:02 AM

China's Ministry of Commerce has concluded that the European Union's practices under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), announced in July, constitute trade and investment barriers. The investigation found that the EU's measures discriminated against Chinese firms, treating their products more unfavorably than those from other countries during export processes. The ministry criticized the FSR for its vague criteria, which impose a severe burden on targeted companies and create significant uncertainty due to opaque procedures. Additionally, the EU's surprise inspections were deemed to exceed necessary limits, with investigators acting subjectively and arbitrarily on issues like market distortion. The ministry reported that these investigations forced Chinese companies to abandon or curtail projects, resulting in losses exceeding 15 billion yuan ($2.05 billion). In response, China plans to request talks with the EU regarding the Foreign Subsidy Regulation.