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China-EU relations
ChinaDiplomacy

EU ‘absolutely willing’ to use trade tools against China to fight unfair practices as bloc launches train probe

  • EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager says investigation into Chinese train maker over subsidies sends ‘important signal’ to business community
  • The rail probe is the latest in a string of inquiries into Chinese companies, but Vestager denies Brussels is targeting Beijing with trade weapons

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Asked whether more trade inquiries could be expected before the European elections in June, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said such investigations “must be done on substance, on the case”. Photo: Reuters
Finbarr Berminghamin Munich
The European Union is “absolutely willing to use” its suite of trade tools to combat perceived unfair competition from China, a top official said in Munich on Saturday.
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A day after Brussels launched its first investigation into Chinese state-owned train maker CRRC over state subsidies, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said it had an obligation to put the weapons to use.
“These are the early days of this investigation, but it is a very important signal to the business community in Europe and outside of Europe, that we’re absolutely willing to use our tools to make sure that we get fair competition,” Vestager told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
On Friday, the European Commission said it was investigating a subsidiary of CRRC, Qingdao Sifang Locomotive, over a procurement contract with Bulgaria worth €610 million (US$655 million) to provide electric trains.

Under the foreign subsidies regulation, companies must flag the state subsidies they have received when bidding for procurement tenders in the EU. In a press release, the commission said there were “sufficient indications that this company has been granted a foreign subsidy that distorts the internal market”.
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“We have subsidies all over the planet. I think Europe is the only jurisdiction where we have an elaborate system to control it, so that we know when we spent and how we spent, for what purpose, and that is transparent to competitors who may not get the same,” Vestager said.

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