The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce answers questions from reporters regarding the EU's Industrial Accelerator Act

Q: We have noticed that the Ministry of Commerce has recently submitted comments to the European Commission on the EU Industrial Accelerator Act. Can you introduce the relevant situation?

Answer: On April 24th, the Ministry of Commerce officially submitted its comments on the EU Industrial Accelerator Act to the European Commission, expressing China's official position and serious concerns.

The Chinese side believes that the bill imposes many restrictive requirements on foreign investment in the four emerging strategic industries of batteries, electric vehicles, photovoltaics, and key raw materials, and sets exclusive clauses of "EU origin" in public procurement and public support policies, constituting serious investment barriers and institutional discrimination.

The Chinese side pointed out in the comments that the bill mainly has the following problems: firstly, it is suspected of violating basic principles such as most favored nation treatment and national treatment, and violating multiple agreement rules such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, the Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures, the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. Secondly, Chinese investors will face discrimination, which goes against the basic principles of market economy such as commercial voluntariness and fair competition, as well as the important consensus of Chinese and European leaders on properly handling friction and differences, seriously affecting the investment expectations of Chinese enterprises in Europe. Thirdly, it will drag down the EU's green transformation process, undermine fair competition in the EU market, and bring new impacts to multilateral trade rules.

In the comments, the Chinese side suggested that the European side delete discriminatory requirements for foreign investors, local content requirements, mandatory transfer of intellectual property and technology requirements, and public procurement restriction policies in the bill. We hope that the European side will attach great importance to and seriously consider adopting the comments submitted by the Chinese side, strictly abide by WTO rules, and avoid discriminatory restrictive measures.

The Chinese side will closely monitor the relevant legislative process and is willing to engage in dialogue and communication with the European side on this matter. If the European side ignores China's suggestion and insists on promoting its legalization, thereby harming the interests of Chinese enterprises, China will have to take countermeasures and resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.