The new EU Competition Commissioner said that vigilance is needed against China's attempts to dominate the EU clean technology market and to ensure that Chinese exports do not destroy their European competitors.
According to Bloomberg on the 5th, Ribera, in her first interview after becoming the EU Antitrust Commissioner, stated that Europe and the United States have failed in recent years to foresee the threats posed by China's ambition to achieve global dominance in industries such as clean technology. The EU urgently needs to pay more attention.
Ribera said that when cheap materials and equipment enter the clean technology market and invest in production in Europe, the market will close for European competitors. She mentioned the need to explore the effects this might have on eliminating competitors within the same market and controlling the market.
She also suggested that the EU needs to consider issuing joint bonds to help promote the clean technology transition.
Ribera, a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, took over as the EU Antitrust Affairs Chief on the 2nd. In the new European Commission, her responsibilities will expand to include helping to plan the clean technology transition while defending the EU's competitiveness against China and the United States.
Reports state that one of Ribera's primary tasks after taking office will be to propose a "Clean Industry Agreement" to support some of the most carbon-intensive economic sectors in adopting new technologies and to prevent these technologies from flowing to countries like the United States and China.
Ribera said that the cost of transition means the private sector cannot bear it alone. The EU should strive to find more resources to help fund clean technology, while cooperating with existing funds and the European Investment Bank's money.