Customers intended to purchase an electric vehicle of Chinese carmaker Geely are pictured at a shop in Tel Aviv, Israel on June 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on Tuesday hailed the "soft landing" reached between China and the EU in consultations over electric vehicles (EVs), saying the outcome will have a positive impact on the development of bilateral relations, according to an article published by CAAM on its official WeChat account on Tuesday. 

The article noted that guided by the principle of mutual respect, China and the EU have advanced the EV case toward a "soft landing" through sustained dialogue and multiple rounds of consultations, achieving important and positive results. The outcome is a vivid example of the two sides resolving differences through dialogue and consultation under the framework of WTO rules, and is of great significance for safeguarding the healthy and stable development of China-EU economic, trade and investment cooperation, as well as overall bilateral relations, it said. 

China and the EU have agreed on price undertaking guidance for Chinese battery EVs makers, China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday, marking a significant step forward in resolving the two-year-long dispute.

The European Commission issued the Guidance Document on Submission of Price Undertaking Offers, in which the EU acknowledges that it will assess each price undertaking offer proposed by Chinese EV export companies against the same legal criteria in an objective and fair manner, following the principle of non-discrimination and in accordance with relevant WTO rules, and eligible enterprises will be allowed to replace countervailing duties with price undertakings, said the CAAM article. 

The CAAM reaffirmed that the competitive advantages of Chinese electric vehicles stem from sustained technological innovation across the entire industrial chain and from cost and technological strengths forged through full competition in a vast domestic market, rather than from reliance on subsidies. The CAAM vowed that it supports relevant enterprises in safeguarding their export interests to the EU in line with their own circumstances and business needs, according to the article. 

Chinese industry analysts and business representatives said the latest move underscores the fact that the world's two major economies are capable of resolving trade disputes through consultation and dialogue, setting a positive and much-needed example at a time when the global economy is facing a rising trend of unilateralism and protectionism, marked by high tariffs.

Global Times