China has called upon the European Commission (EC) to promptly correct its current practices and cease the "unreasonable suppression" of Chinese enterprises through the abuse of investigation tools under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR).
In a statement released on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) urged the EC to establish a fair, just, and predictable business environment for Chinese enterprises investing and operating within Europe. These remarks follow a statement issued by China's Ministry of Justice on May 15, which asserted that the EU's cross-border probe into the Chinese company Nuctech under the FSR constituted "unlawful extraterritorial jurisdiction."
The MOC expressed consistent opposition to the EU's use of unilateral tools like the FSR to target Chinese firms. According to the spokesperson, the EU has recently increased the frequency and expanded the scope of these investigations. This includes upgrading probes into companies like Nuctech to more in-depth investigations.
Furthermore, the Chinese side highlighted that the EU has pressured Chinese banking institutions to cooperate with these probes, often demanding vast amounts of China-based information that the MOC deems broad in scope and unrelated to the actual investigations. Such practices, the spokesperson added, have had a serious negative impact on the normal investment and business operations of various Chinese enterprises and financial institutions in Europe.
This is not the first time China has raised these concerns. In January 2025, the MOC determined through an investigation that the EU's FSR-related practices acted as trade and investment barriers. At that time, China urged the EU to correct these practices and suggested managing differences through dialogue.
Despite these calls, the spokesperson noted that the EU has persisted in its current course. While China continues to maintain that differences should be resolved through friendly consultations, it has signaled its intent to closely monitor EU movements and take necessary measures to safeguard national security and the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
