Shanghai
China firmly opposed the European Commission's decision to slap provisional anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce Shen Danyang said on Wednesday, "Economic ties underpin the China-EU relationship, which China hopes will not be affected by trade frictions in the solar panel industry," adding that China was ready to sit down with the European side for more discussions on solar panel prices.
Shen said that China has noticed the EU reduced the proposed rate from 47.6 percent to 11.8 percent and looked forward to seeing more sincerity and flexibility from the European side for a solution acceptable to both parties.
On Tuesday, the European Commission announced its decision to introduce anti-dumping duties on solar panels imported from China. An interim punitive duty of 11.8 percent will apply to all Chinese solar panel imports starting from Thursday, and the duty will be raised to an average of 47.6 percent two months later if the two sides fail to find a solution.
Meanwhile, German Economy Minister Philipp Rosler said that the European Union's decision was "a huge mistake".
