China urges EU to end old anti-dumping probe method

BEIJING - China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has urged the European Union (EU) to terminate an old practice in anti-dumping investigations of Chinese products by the end of this year.

The "surrogate system" adopted by the EU is set to expire in December, according to a protocol of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on China's accession 15 years ago, an MOC statement said on Thursday.

All WTO members should abide by the protocol, regardless of their domestic standards or any other issues, including industrial overcapacity, said the statement.

Under the current anti-dumping probe method, the EU uses costs of production in a third country to calculate the value of products from countries on its "non-market economy" list, which includes China. The practice allows the EU to easily levy high tariffs.

The statement came after the European Commission held a second orientation debate on the treatment of China in anti-dumping investigations, considering the option to abolish the list and set up a new "country-neutral" method.

China will closely watch the progress and assess the results, the statement said.