China opens investigation into trade barriers against Taiwan

Beijing (China), October 12 (ANI): China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that it may take additional measures against Taiwan following an investigation revealing that restrictive trade measures imposed by Taiwan against this country violates fair trade practices, according to a Xinhua report.

The spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) made the remarks following the trade investigation into Taiwan’s restrictive measures, which concluded in December last year.

The spokesperson said Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have failed to take concrete steps to lift trade restrictions against the Chinese mainland, despite releasing the investigation results.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said Taiwan’s restrictions on the import of more than 2,000 Chinese products effectively constitute trade barriers. The ministry further indicated that this decision was taken in December 2023, following a thorough investigation. He added that the Commerce Ministry has called for the restrictions to be removed, but so far Taipei has made no effort to do so.

An investigation was opened following concerns from Chinese chambers of commerce. The investigation investigated whether Taiwan’s import bans on 2,455 Chinese products (as of April) violated fair trade practices.

Taiwan has notably imposed bans on several products from China, and the range of restricted imports has continued to expand in recent years, according to the survey results. At the end of November 2023, imports of 2,509 products from China were banned.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) protested China’s “economic oppression” on Saturday, responding to Beijing’s threat of countermeasures over Taiwan’s so-called trade barriers.

In a statement, the MAC, Taiwan’s main government agency that oversees trade across the Taiwan Strait, expressed regret over such measures but said the government would continue its efforts to minimize the negative effects that they could cause, according to a report from Focus Taiwan. . (ANI)