unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Geert Bourgeois
Political group: ECR
Country: Germany
Language: NL

Voorzitter, mijnheer de commissaris, de aanpak van de Commissie lijkt mij de juiste. Niet ontkoppelen van China, wel de risico’s afbouwen. Geen protectionisme, wel open strategische autonomie en vooral faire handel gebaseerd op gelijke spelregels. En daar knelt het schoentje. Ik ken bloeiende Vlaamse bedrijven met honderden werknemers die ten onder dreigen te gaan door dumpingpraktijken van China. Massale invoer van producten tegen dumpingprijzen. De Commissie moet daar kordaat tegen optreden en vooral sneller. De gewone procedure duurt een tot anderhalf jaar. Welnu, in deze periode gaan die bedrijven kapot en komen honderden mensen op straat te staan. Mijn vraag is dus wat u gaat doen om dergelijke drama’s te vermijden en om kordaat, maar vooral veel sneller op te treden tegen die dumpingpraktijken.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

So it is something also when we are looking at the legislative process, when we are legislating on different instruments, I think timelines is one of the elements which we need to look at and to streamline as much as possible, because I fully agree, the faster we react, the better we can protect our companies. But still, in this procedure, we need to gather necessary evidence to build the case properly so that we can also, depending on specific procedure, is under the EU court or under the WTO panels, under the WTO rules.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Geert Bourgeois
Political group: ECR
Country: Germany
Language: NL

Mijnheer de commissaris, u moet inderdaad de termijnen respecteren, maar er is ook een snelle procedure. Ik vraag meer toepassing te geven aan die snelle procedure om drama’s te vermijden en ik vraag u ook om op de EU-China-top heel klare, duidelijke taal te spreken ter zake. Faire handel? – Ja. Dumping? – Neen.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

And as regards this question of rebalancing of fair trade, of effects on industrial subsidies, indeed those were topics I was raising with my Chinese counterparts. Also, at the beginning, I was raising the fact that our trade relations are very imbalanced. Last year we were running almost EUR 400 billion trade deficit. So, therefore, we put a lot of emphasis in our engagement with Chinese counterparts on specific market access barriers, seeking better access for our businesses, for our investment, so that we can address this imbalance.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Silvia Sardone
Political group: ID
Country: Austria
Language: IT

Signor Vicepresidente, Pechino ha in mano il 60 % della produzione globale di auto elettriche e più del 60 % delle batterie in circolazione è "Made in China". Per produrre le auto elettriche la Cina usa l'energia data da centrali a carbone.  Le stime dell'Eurostat sulle emissioni di anidride carbonica nei paesi dell'Unione europea nel 2022 registrano un calo del 2,8 % rispetto al 2021, però la Cina, invece, registra un aumento del 4,2 % e nei primi mesi del 2023 un altro aumento del 4 %. In Cina il consumo di petrolio è salito del 5,5 %, di carbone 3,6% e di gas dell'1,4 %. Quindi, le mie domande. La prima è: la linea dell'Unione europea è davvero, con la scusa dell'ambiente, quella di impoverire l'Europa a favore dell'economia cinese? Perché questo è quello che sembra risultare. E poi vorrei sapere: l'Unione europea sta valutando nuovi incentivi per l'acquisto di automobili che tengano conto delle emissioni di anidride carbonica sprigionate nel loro processo di produzione e distribuzione?
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

So it’s clear we are open for competition in the EU, including in electrical vehicles sector, but this competition must be fair and not distorted by production-side subsidies and also, if we note that in the last two, three years, market share of Chinese brand battery electric vehicles has increased from less than 1% to 8%. It has been exponential growth. It clearly also presents a risk of injury for European industry. So that’s why we are currently conducting this investigation and making sure that we are addressing the market distortions which may be there as a result of the production-side subsidies in China.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Silvia Sardone
Political group: ID
Country: Austria
Language: IT

Il tema è che qui la concorrenza non è tanto quella dell'Unione europea. Noi ci stiamo facendo concorrenza da soli favorendo paesi, come la Cina, extra Unione europea. Io quindi vorrei capire, proprio operativamente negli accordi commerciali con la Cina, se e come avete intenzione di agire.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

I already mentioned how we are specifically reacting in the battery electric vehicle sector with the launch of an anti-subsidy investigation. However, this is also a topic that we are raising more broadly in the context of a well—functioning WTO, which is able to address 21st—century challenges, and a WTO, which needs to be able to address issues like industrial subsidies, the role of state—owned enterprises and their competitive neutrality, as well as the traditional topic of intellectual property rights. So we are raising all those topics in the context of WTO reform. This obviously also requires China’s engagement, but it’s clear that China has benefited massively from its more than 20 years of WTO membership, and it’s also in China’s interest to preserve the functioning WTO, so expect China’s engagement in this matter.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Mick Wallace
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Commissioner, we have a lot of reports and legislation designed to disrupt EU-China relations. We have the ‘economic coercion by third countries’ instrument, which will ensure the EU engages in reckless tit-for-tat restrictive measures with China and other rivals to US hegemony.  We have the report on China’s influence on critical infrastructure in the EU, full of overblown rhetoric about the Chinese military’s aims to take over the world.  The EU-China relations text is currently going through AFET. It throws all kinds of unfounded accusations and threats of China, while simultaneously maintaining that we need to work closely on global challenges like climate change.  Is this not the crux of the matter? The EU, under pressure from the US, is cooking up reasons to disengage from China precisely at a time when we need increased cooperation to fight runaway climate disaster.  Do we want to sacrifice the sustainable future of life on earth for the hegemony of US imperialism? Or do we choose international cooperation and the survival of humanity? Commissioner, which is in the best interest of the EU?
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

We also remain committed to open and free and fair trade. But the word ‘fair’ is also important in this regard. So we need to be able to react if other countries are not playing by the rules. That’s why we have our TDI toolbox. If there are subsidies, if there is dumping, if there are other issues which are threatening EU injury, we need to be able to react. That’s why we have anti-coercion instrument. And actually, I welcome the fact that earlier today the European Parliament approved this anti-coercion instrument with a large majority. So thank you for this. But also, the anti-coercion instrument is first and foremost there to engage with other countries to be able to address the problems if economic coercion is taking place before taking further steps on possible rebalancing measures. So we also believe that anti-coercion instrument will help us as kind of as a deterrent type of instrument. So yes, we are committed to multilateralism. We are going to be multilateral as much as we can, but we stand ready to act unilaterally if we must.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Mick Wallace
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EN

In your response, Commissioner, you say that you are committed to the international rules-based system. And I suppose my question to you is that given that the international rules-based order is something that Western powers have come to invent over the last while, rather than referring to the UN charter, which is really the international system, and that the rules-based international order is a system that’s actually designed to protect US hegemony. And do you not think, I mean, China insists that it adheres by the UN Charter, it respects the sovereignty of other nations and hasn’t bombed a country in 40 years. The Americans who we call our partner haven’t gone a year since 45 without bombing anybody. What are we committed to, Commissioner?
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

For example, I was raising this prominently with the Chinese authorities, seeking their more active engagement in a situation where Russia is blatantly violating the UN Charter through its aggression against Ukraine and its violation of the UN rights enshrined in the UN Charter. War crimes are being committed and China, having its geopolitical clout, can play a more active role, for example, in restoring the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which is there to provide food security and food affordability for developing countries, something which China itself emphasises as an important issue to be addressed, and in dealing with questions on the circumvention of sanctions on high—priority battlefield items not reaching Ukrainian battlefields. Clearly, geopolitical clout also comes with certain responsibilities.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Fabio Massimo Castaldo
Political group: NI
Country: France
Language: EN

Commissioner, thank you for being here today with us for discussing a matter of pivotal importance such as the future of our trade relationship with China, a country that we see as a partner in the fight against global challenges, an economic competitor and also a systemic rival.  Last week you spoke at Tsinghua University and you rightfully insisted on the concept of reciprocity. Also, in light of the fact that our trade relations with China are becoming more and more unbalanced, how can we reverse this trend? Is there any action plan for reducing this trade gap? What about critical technologies and rare earths? These are two fields in China has a remarkable advantage at the global level. Furthermore, as stated by the President Ursula von der Leyen during the State of the Union, the Commission will launch an investigation over Chinese state subsidies in the production of electric vehicles. I believe that the result of the investigation will be pretty clear and straightforward. Therefore, I would like to ask you whether you are already working on a plan to counter these distortions of the market.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

The question is how to address this huge trade deficit we are facing with China, which last year was almost EUR 400 billion. First of all, of course, we are not, so to say, seeing seeking trade balance with every country in the world. That’s not practical. That’s not how international trade functions. But having this huge trade deficit is certainly raising concerns and raising headlines so we need to look at the underlying factors.  As regards underlying factors, we see lots of market access barriers for EU companies to do business and enter China. Therefore, in our high-level economic dialogue, we were focusing on addressing these market access barriers. If we look at the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, it lists more than 1 000 market access barriers. Obviously, I was not able to raise all of them in my contacts, so we chose to focus on maybe on some five or six most relevant of highest economic value. We secured some commitments on some of those market access barriers from Chinese side. Of course, it will be important now to follow up that the Chinese side is actually properly implementing those commitments. On the battery electrical vehicles investigation, well, indeed, we have sufficient prima facie evidence of presence of the subsidies and that was a reason of launching this investigation. Of course, at this stage, I cannot prejudge the outcome of the investigation because it has to be facts-based and we also need to give opportunity for Chinese authorities and Chinese companies to provide evidence. It’s actually in their interest to provide this evidence also from their side, because otherwise we act on based on information which we have, and only then we arrive at the outcomes of the investigation.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Fabio Massimo Castaldo
Political group: NI
Country: France
Language: EN

Thank you, dear Commissioner, for your answers. I would like to go a bit further in detail into some considerations on the recent Chinese ban on the export of gallium and germanium metals and all final products that contain these elements. Two months after this ban, what is your evaluation on the effects it had on the market? Also, do you believe that it has negatively impacted our capacity to acquire products that contain these minerals? Looking at the future, what is the way ahead for coping with these limitations, considering the fact that China has a stronghold over the global production of gallium and germanium? Do we have credible alternatives?
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

So far, we do not have some definite response from EU companies or the Chinese authorities. There are some EU companies which were requesting import licences for gallium and germanium. They have not been, at this stage, either confirmed or denied, so they are being processed.  In my contacts with the Chinese authorities, they were making reassuring noises that those licences are going to be granted, but this is something we need to monitor very closely and we will be monitoring very closely. So whether China actually restricts exports by failing to approve those licensing applications. So that’s something we will need to see in the coming weeks and months.  But that’s why we took initiatives more broadly on the Critical Raw Materials Act to alleviate the EU’s dependency on single suppliers. That’s why we are coming forward with this initiative of a critical raw materials club bringing together consuming and resource-rich countries around the world for win-win partnerships, because clearly access to raw materials in a context of green and digital transition is something which we need to ensure.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: David Lega
Political group: PPE
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Trade is one of our strongest EU tools for influence and partnership, and the EU has tried to cooperate with the People’s Republic of China, now we need to confront. On trade the Chinese Communist Party does not play fair and at the same time, both at home and abroad, it increasingly undermines democratic values and represses human rights. And I love free trade. But the Chinese regime has not earned the windfall profits which finalisation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment would bring. In June 2022, on my initiative, this Parliament recognised crimes against humanity and serious risk of genocide being perpetrated in Xinjiang by the Chinese Communist Party. I then asked High Representative Borrell what steps were being taken to either prevent or punish such atrocity. So now the question to you: how does the European Parliament’s assessment of genocide against Uyghurs affect the Commission’s mix of carrots and sticks in EU relations with China?
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

Clearly, this is something that is on the EU’s agenda. As regards trade, as you know, we are currently developing our autonomous tools in this regard. For example, questions or initiatives related to due diligence, which is there to ensure that European companies are not sourcing goods and services derived from labour rights or environmental violations. This also concerns specific legislative proposal on forced labour, which foresees a market ban on products made with forced labour in the EU single market. Generally, in cases where we are engaging with countries in bilateral trade agreements – this is not the case with China – we are always insisting on ambitious trade and sustainable development chapters, addressing once again labour rights and environmental issues.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Inma Rodríguez-Piñero
Political group: S-D
Country: Netherlands
Language: ES

Señor presidente, nuestras relaciones económicas y comerciales con China se basan en una competencia desleal provocada por la falta de reciprocidad existente. Hay que reconocer que esta situación se ha producido porque se lo hemos permitido y se lo hemos puesto demasiado fácil durante mucho tiempo. China ha expandido sobremanera su influencia en el contexto económico mundial a costa, en parte, de la economía europea, cuyas excesivas dependencias deben corregirse. Por tanto, sin duda alguna, el gran objetivo respecto a nuestras relaciones económicas y comerciales con China debe ser conseguir una relativa equivalencia de las condiciones.  Por eso creo que es muy positivo que haya usted viajado a China, porque creo que a través del diálogo se puede avanzar. Pero es necesario actuar y me gustaría tener algunos detalles más precisos del resultado de su viaje. ¿Qué considera lo más positivo y lo más preocupante después de haberse reunido con nuestras empresas que están allí y con las autoridades chinas? ¿Cree usted que China, después de esto, va a acercar posiciones hacia unas reglas del juego más equitativas o que, al menos, se puede abrir una vía de acercamiento en ese sentido? ¿Qué resultados espera usted obtener del grupo de trabajo creado sobre cooperación tecnológica y regulación financiera?
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Daniel Caspary
Political group: PPE
Country: Portugal
Language: DE

Herr Präsident! Wenn wir heute über die Handelsbeziehungen zwischen der Europäischen Union und China sprechen, dann sollte es darum gehen, wie wir diese Beziehungen angesichts der politischen Lage in China im Interesse der europäischen Bürgerinnen und Bürger neu gestalten können. Aber offenbar vertreten nicht alle Mitglieder dieses Hauses auch die Interessen der Europäer. Wie dieser Tage in deutschen Medien zu lesen war, etablierte der Spitzenkandidat der AfD, Herr Maximilian Krah, hier ein chinesisches Lobbynetzwerk. Nach den Medienrecherchen sollen finanzielle Zuwendungen aus Peking an Herrn Krah und an sein Umfeld geflossen sein. Dass Herr Krah beispielsweise gegen die China-Entschließung stimmte und „die angebliche Ausbeutung und Internierung von Uiguren“ in China anzweifelte, erscheint vor diesem Hintergrund in neuem Licht. Offenbar fungiert der Kollege als Außenstelle der kommunistischen Führung Chinas hier im Europäischen Parlament. Während sich die AfD in Deutschland also nationalpatriotisch zeigt, verkauft sich ihr Abgeordneter hier für kleines Geld an China. Meine Frage an die Kommission ist: Sind Ihnen diese Berichte bekannt? Sehen Sie die Einflussnahme Chinas auch hier im Europäischen Parlament? Und wie stehen Sie zu diesen Vorwürfen?
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Georgios Kyrtsos
Political group: Renew
Country: Germany
Language: EL

Κύριε Πρόεδρε, έχουμε μείνει πίσω στον ανταγωνισμό με την Κίνα. Είναι δικαιολογημένη η κριτική που κάνουμε στους Κινέζους, αλλά βέβαια έχουμε κι εμείς ευθύνες γιατί χάσαμε χρόνο. Έχω δύο ερωτήματα, αν μπορούμε να καλύψουμε αυτό τον χρόνο με διάφορες συμμαχίες, και καταρχάς στα microchips τα οποία είναι στρατηγικής σημασίας. Οι παγκόσμιοι πρωταθλητές δεν είναι οι Κινέζοι, αλλά οι Ταϊβανέζοι.  Το ερώτημα, λοιπόν, προς τον Αντιπρόεδρο της Επιτροπής είναι: υπάρχει ένα σχέδιο συνεργασίας Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης-Ταϊβάν σε έρευνα, επενδύσεις και κοινές προσπάθειες που έχουν σχέση με τα microchips, τα οποία παίζουν τεράστιο ρόλο, και ιδιαίτερα τα εξαιρετικά αναπτυγμένα; Και το δεύτερο: καθώς το Global Gateway έχει μείνει πίσω από το Belt and Road αλλά οι Ιάπωνες έχουν το δικό τους πρόγραμμα, το οποίο είναι πιο εξελιγμένο από το δικό μας· υπάρχει η δυνατότητα συνεργασίας σε αυτά τα ζητήματα, δηλαδή στο Global Gateway, με τους Ιάπωνες;
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

As regards our cooperation with Japan, obviously we are engaging closely in many areas across different sectors. Actually, later this month I will be travelling to Japan for a G7 meeting, but also use this occasion for bilateral engagement with my Japanese counterparts and obviously as like-minded partners we are working closely across a range of policy areas.
Debate: Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Date: TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Lucia Vuolo
Political group: PPE
Country: Germany
Language: IT

Signor Vicepresidente, durante l'ultimo discorso sullo stato dell'Unione europea la Presidente Ursula von der Leyen ci ha informato di un'indagine sulle auto elettriche cinesi. Egregi colleghi, la verità è che dovremmo prendere decisioni su quanto la Cina sistematicamente compie ai nostri danni, o meglio ai danni dei nostri imprenditori. Sappiamo o no che esistono aiuti di Stato che gli imprenditori cinesi ricevono e che sono finalizzati a un'esportazione a prezzi assolutamente non competitivi? È nel rispondere a questa domanda che l'Unione europea deve fare la differenza. Vorrei soffermarmi sull'articolo 5 del regolamento (UE) 2016/1036. Secondo questo articolo, se un imprenditore volesse promuovere un'inchiesta antidumping, dovrebbe rappresentare il 25 % della produzione totale del prodotto realizzato dall'industria europea. Una percentuale troppo alta, quasi impossibile da raggiungere per le piccole e medie imprese. Capisco che il 25 % sia un numero ponderato con l'Organizzazione mondiale del commercio, ma questo numero esclude proprio le fasce più esposte: le piccole e medie imprese. La domanda è questa: è possibile considerare nuovi strumenti antidumping specifici per le piccole e medie imprese o considerare una revisione dell'articolo 5?