EU rises to Chinese challenge

Facing the challenges posed by China’s runaway growth is the trade test of our times, Peter Mandelson tells TheParliament.com

European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson tells this website it is time for Europe to stand up to the Chinese dragon.

“Europe certainly needs to be more confident in the face of China,” he declares.

This means flexing competitive muscle and calling Beijing to account when it fails to play fair.

“We are still the world’s biggest exporter and still the world’s biggest producer of high quality, high tech goods and China itself is a growing market for these things,” the European trade commissioner continues.

“Every time I go to China I am struck by the scale and pace of change. I used my most recent trip to reinforce the need both for Europe to have the confidence to welcome China’s economic rise – resurgence actually - but also for China to recognise that it must move faster to meet its outstanding WTO commitments and better protect intellectual property rights or risk a backlash in Europe against its perceived power as a trader.”

But critics accuse the commissioner of failing to practise what he preaches.

In implementing anti-dumping measures and quotas against Beijing, they accuse the EU executive of being pushed into protectionist retreat.

“Using the anti-dumping tool is not protectionism, it is about ensuring that trade is competitive but fair,” Mandelson hits back.

“The multilateral trading system does have inbuilt safeguards to be used when countries are topping up their fair competitive advantage with unfair state intervention or trade-distorting subsidies.”

European shoe importers have also kept up their campaign against the anti dumping measures – and are still seeking to weaken them further before the final decision, expected in October, on whether to keep the measures in force for five years.

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