According to Reuters, the European Commission began a 13-month regulation investigation into the goods of Chinese electric vehicles on September 13 and claimed that state grants allowed Chinese Vehicles to outperform European companies in terms of price.
According to a Reuters article, Chinese imports have increased their market share for EVs in Europe by 8 % over the past year, suggesting that competitive pricing has contributed to the local market’s success in China. & nbsp,
Taiwanese” enemy” companies
The EV industry is not the only target of anti-dumping studies by Europeans against Chinese companies. A quick search reveals that even this year, a variety of Chinese-made products, including material and plastics, have come under regulatory scrutiny in Europe, frequently with Chinese companies being subjected to anti-dumping duties.
However, given the ongoing political tensions resulting from the Russo-Ukranian war and perceptions among Europeans that the Chinese position is subtly favoring Russia in the fight, German investigations into Chinese firms have become more socially beneficial and draw less criticism from company leaders. & nbsp,
As a result, Europeans’ perceptions of Taiwanese businesses that are either state-owned or seen as having strong ties to the Chinese government are deteriorating. The possibility of a angry Chinese state using Taiwanese companies in Europe to manage the local market is the source of European skepticism toward Chinese businesses.
Some are more overt, like worries that Chinese governments will have access to Western data that violates privacy laws. Both Huawei and TikTok‘s operational limits can be included in this category.
Others are more subliminal, like the notion that Taiwanese businesses dominate Europe, which would disadvantage the latter in the event of conflicts. Such interpretations may apply to restrictions on EVs, metal, and plastics.
The presence of Chinese businesses in the Belt and Road Initiative by the Chinese government is the single most damaging example of how they are perceived as a tool of hostility toward Europe.
The BRI has grown to be a significant foreign policy action for the Foreign state since its 2013 build in an effort to improve China’s standing internationally by providing sizable funding for infrastructure projects. Due to political and financial differences surrounding several initiatives, including in Europe, the BRI has also been mired in considerable controversy.
destruction to Belt and Road company
China Ocean Shipping Company( COSCO ) is a good case study in Europe.
For 35 years, the Grecian port of Piraeus was largely leased to COSCO for€ 100 million annually. Since 2016, COSCO has owned the port in an illegal majority, with a full ownership stake of 67 % in 2021, at the cost of€ 368.5 million, making Piraeus an important port for the shipping of products between Europe and Asia.
As a result, the interface has grown significantly under COSCO’s leadership, with its power increasing and its position in the world rankings for pot transaction volumes rising from No. 77 in 2010 to No 24 in 2020. & nbsp,
However, the diminished support for the BRI among European nations has made it more and more challenging for COSCO to employ Piraeus to carry out its stated objective of managing German transshipments to Asia. Local Greek opposition to the port’s continued expansion has been one factor.
Citizens who live close to the port have been fighting in local courts over pollution from port operations that endangers native fisheries, as well as allegations that local government officials have purposefully sidestepped the problems in the name of economic expansion.
The planned rise of the harbor was halted in March 2022 by Greece’s highest administrative court, which did so because COSCO failed to submit an environmental assessment in accordance with EU and Grecian law.
As Piraeus becomes involved in another unhappy BRI projects, COSCO’s brand image will continue to decline even if it manages to reduce home opposition within Greece.
For example, the Budapest-Belgrade-Skopje-Athens railroad, which was intended to serve as a link between the dock and central Europe in 2013, has been suspended until 2019. During this time, EU regulators looked for indications of irregularities in the bidding procedure.
The Romanian government’s failure to make the terms of the US$ 1.9 billion payment for its section of rail public merely served to increase EU suspicions that China and COSCO are aiding in the alleged anti-democratic tendencies of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the absence of pro-corruption reforms.
As a possible industry of both commercial and political conventions, the outcome will further damage COSCO’s reputation in Europe.
In retrenchment
The BRI and the Chinese government’s role in Europe is waning in response to political antagonism. The removal of the three Atlantic says by 2022 has weakened cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European nations, a assistance format that sponsors the Budapest-Belgrade rail.
Recent reports that Italy, the only G7 nation to formally join the BRI, is considering leaving the program raise the possibility that the Chinese state will quickly play a smaller role in investments in Europe. & nbsp,
However, as the Chinese government retreats, new options for Chinese businesses like COSCO to enhance their reputation through international cooperation are opening up.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated in an interview from September 2022 that there are no significant new Taiwanese investments in Greece and that the Piraeus port funding from ten years ago was during a” various time” when” no one wanted to invest in Greek.” However, only a year later, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Greece featured increased use of the dock at the top of his mission.
Foreign companies can also expand their industrial footprint in Europe after being cleared of suspicions of working with the Foreign state, as evidenced by India’s willingness to designate a majority Chinese-owned port as an important conduit to increase European exports.
Of course, it is still unclear whether any decrease in the Chinese state’s presence in Europe will result in a long-lasting reprieve for Taiwanese businesses operating there. The fact that Piraeus is no longer increasing in transaction volume and, as a result, losing its corporate significance, may contribute to the decreased attention to COSCO.
However, given that companies like COSCO, Huawei, and TikTok deliberately promote and advertise their presence in Europe, it is unlikely that they won’t encounter intense media scrutiny and aggression from the general public once more. And when that time comes, their purported connections to the Chinese government, both actual and imagined, might damage their reputation after more. & nbsp,