EU remedies on Chinese PV products will hurt cooperation

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Tuesday voiced deep concerns over European solar panel makers' bid for a trade remedy investigation against Chinese photovoltaic products.

If the EU launches trade remedies against photovoltaic products imported from China, it will hurt cooperation between European and Chinese enterprises, MOC spokesman Shen Danyang said at a regular press conference.

The move will also weigh against the development of both upstream and downstream industries of the eurozone's photovoltaic sector, and in turn hinder low-carbon efforts, Shen said.

"China hopes that the EU will carefully proceed with the matter," he said.

Shen said China shares complementary advantages with many other countries in developing the photovoltaic industry.

According to Shen, 20 percent of China's polysilicon imports worth 764 million U.S. dollars were from Germany last year, while 45 percent of its photovoltaic equipment imports were from EU countries.

Regarding the European Union's accusation that the Chinese mobile network equipment Huawei and ZTE have benefited from illegal state subsidies, Shen said that such a claim was unwarranted and unreasonable.

The two companies are running their businesses in a domestic market open to competition, and have gained their global competitiveness through active research and upgrading, the spokesman said.

He said European telecommunications equipment companies that have operated in China for years share significant business interests with their Chinese counterparts.

"China doesn't want to see such a win-win situation undermined or disrupted," Shen said.

China and the EU should strengthen policy coordination, properly handle trade disputes and stay restrained on trade protection measures, so as to create a good business environment and maintain bilateral trade cooperation, he noted.