(China, 2nd) The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) officially came into effect on the 1st, with the EU recently intensively issuing related legislative proposals and implementation details. A spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Commerce responded, stating that the EU has disregarded the significant achievements China has made in green and low-carbon development and has set substantially higher basic default values for the carbon emission intensity of Chinese products, which will gradually increase over the next three years. This does not correspond to China’s current actual levels or future development trends, and constitutes unfair and discriminatory treatment against China.
China has noted that the EU has recently issued a dense series of legislative proposals and implementation rules related to CBAM, including setting default values for carbon emission intensity and planning to expand the range of covered products. The spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Commerce pointed out that these EU actions not only allegedly violate the most-favored-nation treatment and national treatment principles of the World Trade Organization, but also run counter to the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The EU recently also revised its 2035 ban on new fuel vehicles, relaxing internal green regulation on member countries. China criticized the EU for practicing protectionism externally under the guise of green causes while simultaneously relaxing regulations and lowering emission reduction requirements internally—a typical double standard. China hopes the EU will abide by international rules related to climate and trade, abandon unilateralism and protectionism, keep markets open, and promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation in the green sector. China is willing to work with the EU in a mutually accommodating manner to jointly tackle the challenges of global climate change, but will resolutely take all necessary measures to respond to any unfair trade restrictions, safeguarding its own development interests, the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, and the stability of global industrial and supply chains.