China says EU's investigations amount to trade, investment barriers

China has concluded that the European Union's practices in investigating Chinese companies under the bloc's Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) and related rules amount to trade and investment barriers, said the Ministry of Commerce in an online statement on Thursday.

At the request of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products and in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, the Ministry of Commerce decided to conduct an investigation into the trade and investment barriers arising from the EU's practices in investigating Chinese companies under the FSR and its implementing rules.

According to the probe conducted by the Chinese government, about 93 percent of stakeholders who participated in the questionnaire believe that the EU's FSR investigation has caused restrictions or obstacles for Chinese companies, products and investments in entering its markets, said a conclusion document attached to the statement.

In terms of economic losses, the responses indicate that the EU's FSR investigation has resulted in both direct and indirect economic losses for Chinese companies. Among these, projects valued at about 7.6 billion yuan ($1.04 billion) were abandoned, while other affected projects totaled over 8 billion yuan.

Chinese companies involved in the EU investigation faced losses from bid guarantees, compensation costs and additional compliance expenses, totaling over 100 million yuan, due to the FSR investigation.

In certain inspections conducted by the European Commission on the same case, EU law enforcement officers did not adopt consistent practices in procedures such as on-site checks, said the conclusion document.

These actions severely disrupted the normal business operations of the investigated companies, with the personal safety of relevant personnel being threatened, according to the Ministry of Commerce.