BEIJING- China’s commerce ministry on Sunday launched an anti-dumping probe into POM copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, imported from the European Union, United States, Japan and Taiwan.
The plastics can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc and have various applications including in auto parts, electronics, and medical equipment, the ministry said in a statement.
The investigation should be completed in a year but could be extended for six months, it said.
The European Commission, which oversee EU trade policy, said it would carefully study the contents of the investigation before deciding on any next steps.
“We expect China to ensure that this investigation is fully in line with all relevant WTO (World Trade Organization) rules and obligations,” a spokesperson said.
China’s plastics probe comes amid a broader trade row with the United States and Europe.
The United States on Tuesday unveiled steep tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), computer chips, medical products and other imports.
On Friday, the European Union launched a trade investigation into Chinese tinplate steel, the latest in a string of EU trade and subsidy probes into Chinese exports.
Most notably, the European Commission launched a probe last September to decide whether to impose punitive tariffs on cheaper Chinese EVs that it suspects of benefiting from state subsidies.
Beijing argues the recent focus by the United States and Europe on the risks to other economies from China’s excess capacity is misguided.
Chinese officials say the criticism understates innovation by Chinese companies in key industries and overstates the importance of state support in driving their growth.
Meanwhile, China’s exports to North Korea in April rose at a marginal pace from a year earlier, reversing an annual decline in March, customs data showed on Monday, as Pyongyang affirmed its position to develop long-standing ties with China.
China is the chief ally and economic lifeline for North Korea, which has been hard-hit by UN sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.
Shipments to North Korea last month increased 0.54 percent from a year earlier to $164.9 million, reversing the 5.66 percent drop in March, data released by China’s General Administration of Customs showed.
On month-on-month base, China’s exports to North Korea rose 28.9 percent in April.
Some top Chinese exports to North Korea included processed hair and wool for use in wigs, soybean oil and wheat flour.
China’s top legislator Zhao Leji on April 13 met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, marking the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the North since 2018. Zhao expressed Beijing’s willingness to work with Pyongyang to deepen trust and boost cooperation.
Kim also expected the two countries to “steadily carry forward and develop this durable traditions of friendship, North Korean state media KCNA reported on April 14.
