BEIJING (Reuters) -Proposed European Union tariffs on Chinese language items will not be a “punishment”, Germany’s Economic system Minister Robert Habeck instructed Chinese language officers in Beijing on Saturday.
Habeck’s go to to China is the primary by a senior European official since Brussels proposed hefty duties on imports of Chinese language-made electrical automobiles (EVs) to fight what the EU considers extreme subsidies.
China warned on Friday forward of his arrival that escalating frictions with the EU over EVs may set off a commerce conflict.
“It is important to understand that these are not punitive tariffs,” Habeck stated within the first plenary session of a local weather and transformation dialogue.
Nations such because the U.S., Brazil and Turkey had used punitive tariffs, however not the EU, the economic system minister stated. “Europe does things differently.”
Habeck stated that for 9 months, the European Fee had examined in nice element whether or not Chinese language firms had benefited unfairly from subsidies.
Any countervailing obligation measure that outcomes from the EU overview “is not a punishment”, he stated, including that such measures had been meant to compensate for the benefits granted to Chinese language firms by Beijing.
“Common, equal standards for market access should be achieved,” Habeck stated.
Assembly Zheng Shanjie, chairman of China’s Nationwide Improvement and Reform Fee, Habeck stated the proposed EU tariffs had been meant to degree the taking part in area with China.
Zheng responded: “We will do everything to protect Chinese companies.”
The EU provisional duties are set to use by July 4, with the investigation set to proceed till Nov. 2, when definitive duties, sometimes for 5 years, may very well be imposed.
Habeck instructed Chinese language officers the conclusions of the EU report needs to be mentioned.
“It’s important now to take the opportunity that the report provides seriously and to talk or negotiate,” Habeck stated.
CLIMATE DIALOGUE
Though the commerce tensions had been a key matter to be mentioned, the objective of the assembly was to deepen cooperation between each industrialised nations for the inexperienced transition.
This was the primary plenary session of the local weather and transformation dialogue after Germany and China signed a memorandum of understanding in June of final yr for cooperation on local weather change and the inexperienced transition.
The international locations acknowledged they’d a particular duty to stop world warming of 1.5 levels Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial temperatures, a degree regarded by scientists as essential to stopping essentially the most extreme penalties.
China put in virtually 350 gigawatts (GW) of latest renewable capability in 2023, greater than half the worldwide complete, and if the world’s second-biggest economic system maintains this tempo it’s going to probably exceed its 2030 goal this yr, a report printed in June by the Worldwide Vitality Company (IEA) confirmed.
Whereas Habeck praised the growth of renewable vitality in China, he famous that it is vital to not look solely on the growth of renewables, but in addition the general CO2 emissions.
Coal nonetheless accounted for practically 60% of China’s electrical energy provide in 2023. “China has a coal-based energy mix,” Zheng stated.
China, India and Indonesia, are chargeable for virtually 75% of the worldwide complete coal burned, as governments are inclined to prioritise vitality safety, availability and value over the quantity of carbon emissions.
Zheng stated China was constructing coal-fired energy crops as a safety measure.
“I still believe that the enormous expansion of coal power can be done differently if one considers the implication of renewables in the system,” Habeck replied.
