China announces anti-dumping investigation against EU  

对欧光伏反制 中国再鸣反贸易保护主义警钟

中国商务部1日发布公告，决定即日起对原产于欧盟的太阳能级多晶硅进行反倾销和反补贴立案调查。此举回应了代表中国多晶硅产业80%份额的四大多晶硅企业向商务部提交的“双反”申诉，更可理解为中国对欧美贸易保护主义抬头的一记警钟。

Beijing (CNS) -- China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday announced an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into imported solar-grade polysilicon from the European Union (EU).

The ministry had received complaints from four major Chinese photovoltaic (PV) companies that account for over 80 percent of the country's market share.

The move is also a response to the EU's anti-dumping investigation into various Chinese solar companies in September, said Sang Baichuan, director of the Institute of International Economy under the University of International Business and Economics.

After the financial crisis, the U.S. and the EU implemented protectionism of their domestic PV enterprises, posing a threat to stable bilateral trade with China, Sang said, adding that if we resort to a laissez faire attitude, the conditions of foreign trade will deteriorate, which may cause a trade war.

More than 60 percent of China's solar products, worth US$20.4 billion, were reportedly exported to the EU last year.

Niu Li, a macro-economist from the Economy Forecast Department of the State Information Center, told chinanews.com.cn that if the EU issues the same decision as the U.S., 90 percent of the market share of China's PV industry would be lost.

Sang also said it forces the domestic PV industry to transform and upgrade and the government to adjust its policy.