Tag: China

Chad has ordered an environmental audit of all crude oil explorations in the country after suspending operations at a China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) unit for violating environmental standards, its oil minister said yesterday (15 August).

In a few remote corners of China, a world away from Beijing's allegations of European wine dumping, makers of such lofty French brands as Chateau Lafite-Rothschild and Dom Perignon champagne are investing millions of dollars to produce vintages they hope will put Chinese wine on the world map.

China has agreed to discuss dropping its inquiry into whether Europe is dumping wine, the EU's trade chief said on Monday (29 July), after EU and Chinese officials made a deal to avoid tariffs on solar panels from China.

China has a positive attitude in its EU relations, but it is also strongly determined to safeguard the interests of its nation and enterprises, Xi Jian, ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Warsaw, told EurActiv Poland.

As the financing of major projects in Greenland will probably come from Asia and given Greenland’s characteristics, the self-ruled territory needs to strengthen its political ties with its direct neighbourhood and historical partners: the Nordic region, the European Union and the United States, writes Damien Degeorges.

Brussels and Beijing are quietly but increasingly cultivating contacts and exchanging expertise aimed at enhancing energy-saving practices in the building sector. 

Europe has been slow to recognise the implications of China’s rise. The EU has no strategic policy in East Asia and its ‘strategic partnerships’ with China, Japan, India and South Korea are void of substance. It is high time for the EU to make its citizens, and especially its business community, Asia-literate, writes Krishnan Srinivasan.

A majority of EU governments oppose a plan to impose hefty duties on solar panel imports from China, a survey of member states showed on Monday (27 May), undermining efforts by Brussels to pressure Beijing over its trade practices.

The G20 is a suitable forum for formulating new global standards for cybersecurity, says the chief security officer of one of China’s leading telecommunication companies. One or a few G20 members could be asked to take the lead and champion ideas that could the be tested by the others, he suggests.

German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said the European Commission made a "grave mistake" by agreeing to impose punitive import duties on solar panels from China and urged the Commission to work to prevent the eruption of a trade conflict.

Four decades since the EU and ASEAN signed their first inter-regional cooperation agreement, it is about time to consider upgrading relations from an Enhanced Partnership to a Strategic Partnership, writes Gauri Khandekar.

China’s largest law firm has opened for business in Brussels, reflecting growing interest from Chinese professionals to serve home-based clients eager to invest and often faced with European regulatory disputes.

European Union trade chief Karel De Gucht asked for broad new trade powers on Wednesday (10 April) to make it easier to launch anti-dumping cases, particularly against China.

EU states agreed to impose duties on imports of Chinese plates and other table and kitchenware on Thursday (4 April) after the bloc's executive body said the cheap Asian products were crowding out local goods, according to officials.

Amazonian forest cleared in Ecuador, a mountain levelled in Peru, the Cerrado savannah converted to soy fields in Brazil and oil fields under development in Venezuela's Orinoco belt.

The head of EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht’s cabinet has told EurActiv that the bloc has many worries about a clean-tech trade war with China over unfair subsidisation of solar panels, but that its hands are tied. 

Europe needs to boost its innovation capacity if it wants to keep its seat at the global innovation table. Although this is a call to all European countries, it holds especially for large yet low-innovating countries such as Italy, writes Reinhilde Veugelers.

Greenland's prime minister said on Monday (14 January) he has rejected requests from the European Union to block access to its deposits of rare earths, strategically important metals in which China has a near monopoly.

Britain, and especially London, has become a popular place for tens of thousands of southern Europeans in search of work as the governments of Spain, Portugal and Italy continue to impose austerity measures.

An escalating row between solar panel makers stepped up a gear on Monday ( 5 November) when China complained to the World Trade Organisation that Italy and Greece had unfairly favoured domestic suppliers.

If Europe does not face down Beijing over its export of below-cost solar panels, all our green technology and manufacturing will be lost, and the costs for greenhouse gas mitigation will go up, argues Milan Nitzschke.

The European Commission is investigating whether Chinese bicycle makers are dodging European anti-dumping duties by routing shipments through third countries, the EU executive body said on Wednesday (26 September).

The anti-dumping complaint against China's solar panel manufacturers levelled by the EU ProSun group appears to call for price tariffs on Chinese solar products of up to 120%, EurActiv has learned. EU ProSun filed a separate anti-subsidy suit against China in Brussels yesterday (25 September).

There is no stronger motive today to unify Europe than the growing emergence of China, writes Pierre Defraigne.