EU Ramps Up Pressure on China’s Green Tech With Wind Probe
==========
The European Union has launched a preliminary probe into Chinese involvement in wind parks in Spain, Greece, France, Romania, and Bulgaria as part of its efforts to transform the bloc into a green economy. The EU's competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, stated that China is seen as a partner, an economic competitor, and a systemic rival, and the last two dimensions are increasingly converging. The EU's examination into Chinese investments follows a full-blown probe into bids by Chinese firms for a Romanian solar park, and a Chinese company recently abandoned a €610 million Bulgarian railway tender after an EU investigation began. The move has drawn criticism from the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU, which sees it as discrimination against Chinese enterprises and endorsing protectionism. The EU aims to cut dependence on imports of clean technologies and boost resilience, and wind energy is crucial in meeting Europe's goal of zeroing out greenhouse gases by the middle of the century. The EU exported wind turbines worth $1.98 billion to the rest of the world in 2023, with imports from China worth €160 million. The EU wants to avoid a repeat of the situation in the solar panel industry, where less than 3% of the solar panels installed in the EU are produced in Europe. The move is seen as a wakeup call about the consequences of China's industrial overcapacity for Europe's competitiveness and a key battleground in the conflict between China and western countries for economic dominance.
#Eu #China #GreenTech #WindEnergy #Investments #Competition #Subsidies #TradePractices