"Regarding the way the inspection was conducted, it was really rude, and I was shocked about it. I reckoned there was a third-party force involved," said Zhao Yongsheng, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, in an interview with GDToday.
In April, the European Commission showed up unannounced and raided the offices of Nuctech, a Chinese security equipment maker, as the Chinese company was suspected of benefiting excessively from subsidies provided by its home country. This month, Nuctech spoke out and took a stance, taking the European Commission to court over the raids and stating that there was no evidence to support the allegations that it illegally benefited from state support.
In fact, this is the fifth subsidy investigation since 2024. All of these investigations target Chinese companies based in Europe, all from clean energy industries. All the cases were conducted based on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR).
Based on what Professor Zhao has observed so far, the seemingly never-ending investigation against Chinese companies will definitely send an extremely negative signal to all foreign companies operating in Europe. "It will only highlight how the local business environment is deteriorating and damaging the confidence of all foreign enterprises operating in the EU," he said.
Last year, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, publicly stated that an influx of cheaper Chinese electric cars was distorting the local market.
On June 12, the EU has also announced to slap a 38.1% tariff on Chinese battery-electric vehicles. The regulation will become effective from July 4th. The EU pronounced it as “provisional countervailing duties”, as a way to “presumably” protect the interests of EV producers in Europe.
Why did the EU become so obsessed with going after Chinese companies in all these investigations? Do cheaper Chinese EVs actually distort the EU market? Does the lower price of Chinese EVs have anything to do with home subsidies? Are there any political motives behind this? And where is all this heading for China and the EU? Click on this video to find out the truth.
Reporter | Jersey Kwok, Lydia Liu, Steven Yuen, Zhan Manqi (intern), Guan Xiaotong (intern), Cui Xiaoyun (intern), Yang Lin (intern), Liu Jiaxuan (intern), Huang Zhulin (intern), Wang Zhelin (intern)
Video editor | Wingheng
Graphic designer | Lai Meiya
Editor | Steven Yuen, James
