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China, Germany have consensus on opposing trade protectionism: Chinese commerce chamber

Xinhua, July 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

China and Germany have reached a consensus on opposing trade protectionism in past years, helping strengthen bilateral business ties, said an official from Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Germany (CHKD) in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"The number of trade conflicts between our two countries decreased significantly since disputes over solar panels were solved via negotiations in 2013," said Duan Wei, the Executive Director of CHKD, "This trend reflected our bilateral consensus that trade protectionism in any form should be opposed."

According to him, trade and investment between China and Germany remained vibrant despite current turbulence over debt crisis in Europe and a weak global economy. One third of the total trade volume between China and Europe were contributed by trade with Germany.

"China and Germany complement each other in economy, there are close ties between us... Neither Chinese nor German enterprises could be immune to effects of bilateral trade conflicts," Duan said.

He added that as traditional tools of trade protection like tariff and import quota became less and less available thanks to the trend of free trade around the globe, many countries turned to new protection measures such as anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties.

Both China and Germany opposed European Commission's decision to impose punitive duties on imported Chinese solar panels in 2013, and helped settled disputes over telecommunication products in 2014.

"Chinese enterprises appreciate Germany's position on the issues," said Duan.

Around 6,000 German companies are doing business in China, three times the number of Chinese firms running in Germany. Duan said China regarded Germany as an important partner in upgrading its industry, while Germany needed to cooperate with China to expand business in the world's biggest and fastest growing market.

He added that Chinese enterprises' capability to protect themselves from trade conflicts strengthened in recent years. They were committed to obey laws and rules in foreign countries, but would not hesitate to protect their legal rights in potential disputes. Endit