Beijing Strikes Back: China Opens Anti-Dumping Probe Into EU Chemicals Days Before Trade Talks

China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into a chemical imported from the European Union, less than a week before the EU's trade commissioner arrives in Beijing for talks aimed at preventing further escalation.

China's Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday it would examine whether cheap p-nitrotoluene from the EU is flooding the Chinese market. A ministry spokesperson said the investigation was requested by domestic producers who complained of "damage to production and business operations." The chemical is used in the production of dyes, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides. The investigation is expected to conclude within 12 months, with a possible six-month extension.

The move is a direct response to an EU investigation opened in September into imports of polyvinyl chloride from several countries, including China. Chinese authorities reject claims that the competitiveness of their producers is propped up by state support, and have threatened countermeasures against EU actions targeting Chinese companies.

"China has repeatedly stressed that the EU should look squarely at its own economic and trade problems and resolve mutual differences through dialogue and consultation," a ministry spokesperson said.

Dumping occurs when a company exports a product at a price lower than what it charges on its domestic market, or below the cost of production. World Trade Organization rules allow importing countries to impose additional tariffs — anti-dumping duties — if an investigation shows that cheap imports are harming domestic producers.

Brussels has been increasingly resorting to this instrument. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in August that the EU had opened 30 trade defence investigations over the course of a year — nearly three times the usual number — amid a 45 percent rise in imports from China over five years.

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič will visit Beijing on October 8-9 to co-chair the EU-China Trade and Investment Council and meet with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. The visit coincides with a deadline Brussels set in June for the first tangible results of its dialogue with Beijing.

Brussels is seeking guarantees that China will restrict exports to the EU and extend a temporary truce on rare earth supplies, while the bloc's trade deficit with China reaches €1 billion per day. Beijing has already warned it will respond harshly to any new EU restrictions on Chinese companies or products.

In an exclusive interview with Euronews last month, Šefčovič described the upcoming negotiations as highly political and stressed that they must deliver concrete results. Otherwise, he warned, there will be a "strong political movement demanding tougher measures." He also said that if he has nothing to present to EU leaders, "the political interest will be to seek solutions through other instruments." European leaders will meet in Brussels on October 15-16, a week after his trip.

For now, the two sides are trading investigations instead of concessions. China has fired its latest shot. Šefčovič is on his way to Beijing with a mandate to de-escalate. Whether he returns with anything more than a promise to keep talking remains to be seen.

Written by Christiane Hofreiter christiane.hofreiter@alpineweekly.com