By Li Hongmei
China and the European Union reached a settlement on their trade dispute over China-made photovoltaic products in early August - which allows Chinese firms to largely retain their original market shares, Shanghai-based Securities Daily reports.
However, an insider said that the EU has hired nine independent agencies to conduct investigations into China's PV industry, and the results will be used by two large companies supported by European governments - Bosch and Siemens - in mapping out their PV development plan.
According to the insider, Bosch and Siemens are conducting the investigations because only China has the ability to counter Europe in the world PV industry. "The rapid emergency of China's PV industry has taken Europe by surprise. They know that their Chinese counterparts have a lot of experience they could learn from," he said.
More importantly, Europe will be reluctant to lose its leading position and its sway to influence the market, the insider said, adding that the investigations and mapping out plans for future development are based upon seeing China as a rival.
This view was echoed by a executive of a Chinese PV company, who told the paper that the EU has not compromised with the trade dispute but only made the decision from the perspective of its overall plan and larger future interests.
"In the EU-China PV trade dispute, Europeans have learned a lot of things. For example, they learned that the scale of the business will bring unprecedented edges in costs, so they have chosen government-supported companies Bosch and Siemens to be their main force," the executive said.
looking ahead, the insider predicts that once the EU's PV products have an edge over their Chinese counterparts in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, "cutting carbon emissions" will become its excuse in engaging in trade protectionism.
For example, the EU can stipulate that PV cells from China have to meet set standards for carbon dioxide emissions during the production process. Otherwise, they will slap tariffs on the Chinese products or refuse imports. In such a scenario, China's huge output will again face export restrictions.
