This week amidst the turbulent environment of the EU/Greek crisis, Brussels offered sufficient clues showing that the EU will face the Greek issue rapidly and will go on. China-EU investment relations are increasingly on the spotlight lately and this week culminated with the development of the 17th China-EU Summit and the 10th EU-China Business Summit and on side-events […]China-EU Special Report: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang endorses China’s big investment on Juncker’s plan at 10th China-EU Business Summit
July 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment
This week amidst the turbulent environment of the EU/Greek crisis, Brussels offered sufficient clues showing that the EU will face the Greek issue rapidly and will go on. China-EU investment relations are increasingly on the spotlight lately and this week culminated with the development of the 17th China-EU Summit and the 10th EU-China Business Summit and on side-events […]Europe’s richest regions actively seek investment from China’s biggest banks
June 8, 2015 by Leave a Comment
It is as of last Saturday that the European Commission imposed heavy tariffs on three big solar panel manufacturers of Chinese origin. The EU’s executive arm basically took out three Chinese companies from a pact with China that had been signed in 2013 and provided them with the privilege of low import tariffs to the Old […]A few, or rather two, trade and economic alliances may rule our brave new world
June 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU Commission President together with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave a Press conference following the 23rd EU-Japan Summit which took place in Tokyo on 29 May. The focal point of the meeting was supposed to be the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two sides. However the EU dignitary spoke […]“One Belt One Road”: Its relevance to the European Companies
May 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Written by Kening Zhang, Minister for Economic & Commercial affairs, Chinese Mission to the EU Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in September 2013, since when it has attracted close attention from all over the world. The initiative to jointly […]“China is the only BRICS country to have either met or possibly slightly surpassed my expectations”, BRICS inventor Jim O’ Neil from Switzerland; the Sting reports live from World Economic Forum 2015 in Davos
January 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Being at the second day of the World Economic Forum 2015 in Davos a session that monopolised the interest of the world was titled “The BRICS Agenda”. It was there where everybody was anticipating to see how the BRICS countries contribute to the global economy. Most importantly we were eager to see the reasons behind their […]“Financial crisis will not happen in China!”, the Chinese Premier underlines from Switzerland; the Sting reports live from World Economic Forum 2015 in Davos
January 26, 2015 by 1 Comment
On the first day of the World Economic Forum 2015 in Davos it was the turn of the Chinese Premier to take the floor and perform a much awaited speech. Professor Schwab introduced Mr Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, with great honour and interest. Mr Keqiang made one of the […]China’s impact as a global investor; the Sting reports live from World Economic Forum 2015 in Davos
January 22, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Sting continues its exclusive live coverage from the World Economic Forum 2015 in Davos with a critical piece on China. Yesterday afternoon all the panelists took their seats to participate in what was to become a fresh revealing dialogue on Chinese investment around the globe. The panelists of the session were Mr Cai Jin-Yong, Executive […]10th ASEM in Milan and the importance of being one: EU’s big challenge on the way to China
October 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The 10th Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM) in Milan, Italy, concluded last Friday after two full days of work. The meeting was established in 1996 and it has since become a key forum for new cooperation proposals between Europe and Asia. Russia-Ukraine question has probably been the this edition’s hottest topic under the spotlight, as Milan summit […]Greece may offer to China a European gateway
June 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Chinese diplomacy delivered a good lesson to Europeans with the official visits of Premier Li Keqiang to Britain and Greece last week. In both cases the Chinese offered deals that the British and Greeks couldn’t deny. In London, the Chinese Premier got a deal with the Bank of England which appointed one of China’s largest […]What the future holds for the EU – China relations?
May 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
EU and China relations are perfectly depicted in a passage from a European Union External Action service Press release issued recently. It says, “While acknowledging China’s advancement of the economic and social wellbeing of its people in the past 25 years, the EU also hopes to see greater space open up for discussion and debate […]Britain and Germany change attitude towards the European Union
December 4, 2013 by 1 Comment
Two different developments, completely unrelated with each other, at least in the first reading, took place yesterday and may shape the future of the European Union in the near future. In the first instance the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, on official visit to China, had a quite unpleasant morning yesterday being badly molested by the […]Parliament sets conditions on EU-China investment deal
October 7, 2013 by 1 Comment
A proposal for a resolution on the EU-China investment and market access agreement will be discussed in the October 8 plenary session of the European Parliament. A vote is scheduled to follow on the same day. The resolution, drafted by Helmut Scholz (GUE/NGL, DE), was passed by 25 votes to 2 with 3 abstentions, during […]OECD: Mind the financial gap that lies ahead
September 10, 2013 by 1 Comment
A rather disappointing picture of the world economy drew OECD Deputy Chief Economist Jorgen Elmeskov last week, when he said that “The gradual pick-up in momentum in the advanced economies is encouraging but a sustainable recovery is not yet firmly established. Major risks remain”. If it was not for China’s predicted growth during the last […]New chapters in EU-China trade disputes
September 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This year there was no summer recess for the European Commission Directorate General for Trade (DG TRADE) and more precisely for the Directorate C which is competent for Asia. China kept the department’s bureaucrats busy all along this August, because on the 7th and the 16th of this month the Directorate produced two major cases […]EU Commission retracts on the Chinese solar panel case
August 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
In an unexpected move the European Commission announced on Wednesday 7 August that it “…continues anti-subsidy investigation on solar panels from China…”, and this only a few days after Commissioner Karel De Gucht, responsible for foreign trade had announced on 27 July that the issue had been concluded ‘amicably’ between Brussels and Beijing. In contrast […]EU and China resolve amicably solar panel trade dispute
July 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Exactly ten days after the European Sting predicted on 19 July that most likely EU and China would soon settle their long time dispute on solar panels, Commissioner De Gucht confirmed last Saturday: “We found an amicable solution in the EU-China solar panels case that will lead to a new market equilibrium at sustainable prices”. In […]China hopes EU Commissioner De Gucht drops super anti-dumping tariff on solar panels
July 19, 2013 by 2 Comments
With EU – China bilateral trade volume at more than €1 billion a day and both ways investment flows at around €20bn a year, accusations and complaints over state subsidies, dumping and other trade distorting practices exchanged between the two giant partners seem unimportant. Yet the recent proliferation of the anti-dumping and anti-state-subsidies measures adopted […]China confirms anti-state-subsidy investigation on EU wine imports
June 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday, only a few days after the European Commission decided to impose provisional anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese solar panels imported in the EU, the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union issued a Press release where the spokesperson of the Mission confirmed that the Ministry of Commerce of China, in response […]EU imposes provisional anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese solar panels
June 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Today the European Commission has decided to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of solar panels, cells and wafers from China. The relevant Press releaese goes like that,”This decision follows a thorough and serious investigation and extended contacts with market players. As the market for and imports of solar panels in the EU is very […]Commission’s action against imports from China questioned
June 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
According to European Commission’s procedures, the legal dead line for a decision to be taken on the imposition or not of provisional tariffs on European imports of Chinese solar panels, expires tomorrow 5 June. It must be noted however that the EU Trade Spokesman John Clancy, when issuing a Press release on 27 May noted […]Germany to help China in trade disputes with Brussels
May 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The visit of the new Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China and party secretary of the State Council, Li Keqiang to Germany paid tangible dividends. After meeting with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel he got an official and public promise from her that Berlin will intervene in the Brussels procedures, to cool down […]Commission threatens Chinese firms with trade penalties
May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
European Union Trade Commissioner, Karel De Gucht, announced yesterday that, “The European Commission has today taken a decision in principle to open an ex officio anti-dumping and an anti-subsidy investigation concerning imports of mobile telecommunications networks and their essential elements from China”. Without naming individual firms this Commission decision is directly targeted against two international […]The EU threatens to impose extra import duties on Chinese products
April 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The powerful EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, announced yesterday its proposal for a new legislation targeted at strengthening the protection of home businesses and products from external competition. It’s a clear effort to help the Union’s economy overcome a deepening recession. The new legislations will be in force early in 2014, after being approved […]Commission considers anti-dumping duty on Chinese solar glass imports
February 28, 2013 by 1 Comment
The European Commission launched today (Thursday 28 February), an anti-dumping investigation into imports of solar glass from China. According to the relevant official announcement, “The initiation is based on a complaint lodged by the association European Union ProSun Glass, which claims solar glass from China is being dumped in the EU at prices below market […]EU Commission closer to imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panel imports?
February 27, 2013 by 1 Comment
According to well-informed Brussels sources, the European Commission secured last week a non-binding authorisation by the EU member states, to impose anti-dumping measures on imports of solar panels and components originating from China. The same sources say, however, that the Commission denied that this will lead to an immediate imposition of such measures and characterised […]The European Parliament floating over the South China Sea
February 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A group of European Parliament members, representing the House Delegation for South East Asia and the ASEAN countries (DASE), while visiting the Philippines last week said, they support the country’s move to refer territorial differences over the South China Sea to United Nations. Those differences involve six countries of the region the Philippines, China, Vietnam, […]EU-China relations under investigation?
February 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Out of the last ten ongoing European Union’s Trade Defence Investigations, pending a decision by the European Commission or the Council of the European Union, six of them have as a target products originating from the Peoples’ Republic of China imported in the EU. Most important of them are the Stainless steel fittings, the Solar […]Can the EU afford a trade war with China?
January 28, 2013 by 1 Comment
Last week the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the imposition of anti-dumping duties on two products originating from the EU and the US. Imports into China of the widely used solvents ethylene glycol monobutyl and diethylene glycol monobutyl ethers, produced by a number of European and American companies, will be penalised with anti-dumping duties ranging […]China repels EU allegations of export subsidies
January 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A statement by the head of the EU Mission in Beijing, Markus Ederer, that the EU is not looking to start a trade war with China over dumping pricing or illegal subsidies, does not make good sense. His comments are contradictory to the fact that the Commission has launched aggressive investigations on two very important […]Chinese economy to raise speed and help the world grow
January 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Chinese economy is bound to resume in strength in 2013 and attain an enviable 8.5% growth rate, after a relatively slow year in 2012, when it marked its slowest yearly GDP increase for years at 7.5%. OECD insists however that the relative slow-down of […]Chinese “BeiDou” GPS goes to market
January 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Towards the end of last year Beijing announced the opening of its Geostatic Positioning System for civic and commercial users in the region of Asia and Pacific, adding that the China Satellite Navigation Office is working fast to extend the area covered by this satellite umbrella named “BeiDou”. A GPS system “provides location and time information […]Should Europe be afraid of the developing world?
January 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
China and India are undoubtedly the two heavyweights of the developing world. On their foot-steps one can categorise also Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and some more countries of South East Asia. Yes, those are the tigers of growth, based on the iron willingness of their people to secure a more or less comfortable life, after […]The Chinese solar panels suddenly became too cheap for Europe
December 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
On 6 September 2012 the European Commission introduced an anti-dumping investigation on imports of solar panels and components originating from China. Understandably the present market conditions, including selling prices of solar panels in the European Union, have been there for many years. More than ten. That is, from the moment that a number of EU […]
