EU Act poses serious investment barriers, institutional discrimination: Chinese commerce ministry

BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Commerce said Monday that the European Union (EU)'s Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) poses serious investment barriers and constitutes institutional discrimination.

A ministry spokesperson said the Act imposes multiple restrictive requirements on foreign investment in four strategic emerging industries -- batteries, electric vehicles, photovoltaics and critical raw materials -- and includes exclusionary EU origin clauses in public procurement and public support policies.

The ministry has formally submitted comments to the European Commission, expressing China's position and serious concerns over the legislation.

In the comments, China argued that the legislation is suspected of violating fundamental principles including most-favored-nation treatment and national treatment. It poses discrimination against Chinese investors, and will slow the EU's green transition and undermine fair competition in the EU market.

China urged the EU to remove discriminatory requirements against foreign investors, local content requirements, mandatory intellectual property and technology transfer requirements, and public procurement restrictions from the legislation.

The spokesperson said that China will closely monitor the legislative process and is willing to engage in dialogue with the EU.

However, if the EU disregards China's comments and pushes ahead with enacting the legislation, causing damage to Chinese companies' interests, China will take countermeasures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, the spokesperson said.