Ministry of Commerce: China will take necessary measures against EU's unfair trade restrictions

China will resolutely take all necessary measures to respond to any unfair trade restrictions stemming from the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Thursday.

A MOFCOM spokesperson made the remarks in response to media queries about the EU's CBAM, which is set to officially take effect on January 1, 2026. The EU recently released a series of CBAM-related legislative proposals and implementation rules, including setting default values for carbon emission intensity and planning to expand the scope of covered products.

The spokesperson said China has noted that the EU has disregarded China's remarkable achievements in green and low-carbon development by setting significantly higher baseline default values for the carbon emission intensity of Chinese products and planning to raise them year by year over the next three years. Such arrangements neither reflect China's current realities nor its future development trajectory and constitute unfair and discriminatory treatment against China, the spokesperson said.

The EU's practices are suspected of violating World Trade Organization principles, including the most-favored-nation treatment and national treatment, and run counter to the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, according to the spokesperson.

The spokesperson said the EU, under the pretext of preventing "carbon leakage," is advancing new forms of trade protectionism by ignoring historical emission responsibilities, as well as differences in countries' development stages and technological capabilities, and by imposing its own carbon standards on developing countries. This has resulted in conflicts between climate and trade governance rules, raised the costs of climate action for developing countries, and seriously undermined international trust, running counter to collective efforts to address climate change and promote sustainable development.

China urges the EU to abide by relevant international rules on climate and trade, abandon unilateralism and protectionism, keep markets open, and promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment in green sectors in a fair, scientific and non-discriminatory manner, the spokesperson said.

China stands ready to work with the EU to jointly address global climate change challenges, but will resolutely take all necessary measures to respond to any unfair trade restrictions to firmly safeguard its development interests, the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, as well as the stability of global industrial and supply chains, the spokesperson added.

(Cover: China's Ministry of Commerce building in Beijing. /VCG)