European Commission Preparing Law Against “Unfair Competition” of Chinese Companies

The German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung writes that the European Commission is preparing propositions which aim to protect European companies from “unfair competition” from China, citing the Peljesac Bridge, which is being built by Chinese companies using EU funds, as one of the examples, the Index portal reports.

On Wednesday, the European Commission presented the legislative project whose aim is to enable a ban on the acquisition of companies from the EU by state-subsidized companies from third counties. Furthermore, companies supported by state money should also be excluded from tenders for public contracts.

In Germany, Chinese takeovers of European companies are especially controversial.

For example, the several-billion-worth takeover of the German company Kuka, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial robots, was widely criticized. The purchaser was the Chinese company Midea.

When it comes to public contracts, the fact that a Chinese consortium was awarded a contract for the construction of an important bridge in south Croatia (the Peljesac Bridge) also caused a lot of discussion. Numerous large European companies had missed the tender and then complained about unfair competition, Index writes.

The proposition of the EC envisages that, before a big takeover, foreign companies must first disclose whether they have received state subsidies exceeding EUR 50 million in the past years. It would then pertain to all takeovers of companies with an income of EUR 500 million or more.

European Commission

Kuka

Midea

Pelješac Bridge

Chinese companies

unfair competition

Chinese acquisitions