News Content

EU Chamber joins US Chamber to protest China's anti-foreign probes

THE European Union Chamber of Commerce in China has joined the Washington-based US Chamber of Commerce to protest "strong arm tactics and unfair" accusations by Chinese regulators against foreign firms.

The way China's competition law has been applied is souring the mood of foreign investors, said the EU Chamber after a series of investigations into foreign firm's activities, Reuters reports.

Since August, four foreign business lobbies have expressed alarm about China's antitrust enforcement, an issue many had long been hesitant to address directly. The US Chamber said China's actions could be in breach of World Trade Organisation rules.

"The problem with the recent cases is that they are so un-transparent that it leaves a lot of speculation about the possible intention," said EU Chamber president Joerg Wuttke.

"We have yet to see if it [recent anti-monopoly cases] has an impact on business investment but certainly the mood sours," he told reporters at a press briefing.

China's foreign direct investment from January to July fell for the first time in 17 months in August, a decline officials denied had anything to do with recent probes into foreign firms alleging monopolistic behaviour.

While regulatory authorities in the US and EU issue detailed rulings in antitrust cases, China only announces results in one or two pages.

Mr Wuttke said companies are confused on what constitutes an offence under China's 2008 Anti-Monopoly Law (AML).

Chinese authorities have fined a Japanese auto parts maker a record CNY1.23 billion (US$201 million) for manipulating prices, and it is currently investigating US chipmaker Qualcomm.

China says the law is applied to both domestic and foreign firms, but critics say fines on Chinese companies are lower, and in some cases probes stop without fines being imposed.