French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has made a significant move by inviting China’s well-known electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD to set up a factory in France. This invitation was made during a meeting with automotive industry leaders and coincides with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Paris.Â
The minister’s remarks were made while the European Union is investigating whether to impose tariffs on Chinese automakers, including BYD, to protect the domestic auto industry from the effects of heavy state subsidies. European Union companies have benefited from such subsidies, and the European Commission has been investigating whether to apply punitive tariffs to protect them from lower-priced Chinese EV imports since September of last year.
China has criticized the European probe, arguing that it violates international trade regulations, is opaque, and that the result is predetermined. In fact, Shi Yonghong, vice president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), expressed his concerns last month that the results would be “distorted and unobjective.” Following a warning against protectionism from Brussels by China’s top trade official, he made these remarks.
The CCCME, representing 12 Chinese EV manufacturers in the issue, held a hearing with the European Commission in mid-April. They are concerned about the EU executive’s selection of companies for sampling, which includes SAIC, BYD, and Geely, but exclude Tesla and Dacia, a subsidiary of Renault, as the top exporters from China to the EU in 2023.
According to The Financial Times, the EU has been advised that if it wants to prevent Chinese EVs from entering the bloc, it will have to impose significant tariffs on them.
