Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) holds talks with German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, in Beijing, capital of China, May 24, 2017. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)
German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Wednesday that new anti-dumping rules of the European Union (EU) must accord with the regulations of the World Trade Organizations.
Gabriel made the remarks when meeting the press together with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi after they held talks.
Gabriel said China should have automatically gained market economy status at the end of last year according to Article 15 of the accession protocol signed when China joined the WTO in 2001. All parties should fulfil their obligation, he said.
Germany will make efforts in the EU so that the EU trade remedy measures do not merely focus on whether a target country has a market economy status, but on whether it has dumping practices or actions that go against the WTO rules.
"We should not discriminate against any country, including China," said Gabriel at the press briefing.
He said the stance of Germany is very clear that the new EU anti-dumping rules must accord with WTO regulations.
The EU countries agreed on May 3 to new anti-dumping rules with new methodology to calculate dumping, which analysts say is another way of extending the surrogate country approach wherein WTO members use costs of production in a third country to calculate the value of products.
Under the new methodology, when "significant distortion" is recognized in an exporting country, the EU could use the costs of production and sale prices in a country with similar levels of economic development or "international" costs and prices reference in anti-dumping cases.
China attaches great importance to the obligation of the Article 15 of China's WTO accession protocol, Wang told reporters.
He said Gabriel told him during the talks that all parties should carry out their due obligations as it is a "sunset clause," and any revision of the EU law in the next stage should be in line with the WTO rules without discrimination against any country.
China appreciates Germany's positive attitude on solving the issue and hopes to see Germany exert constructive influences as a major EU country to promote the early settlement of the issue, said Wang.
On the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany in July, Wang said China, as the hosting country of the 2016 G20 summit, will fully support Germany in holding the meeting.
He also called on the two countries to expand cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and achieve more practical results in the areas of politics, trade, security, innovation, aviation and high-tech.
Gabriel said Germany would like to further promote bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and discuss with China the third-market cooperation in Africa.
Proposed in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative, comprising the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond ancient trade routes.
