European firms race to rejig supply chains as US-China trade war rumbles
Leading business group calls for a more level field for foreign players, warning that failure to act now will lead to even greater tensions
European companies in China are scrambling to rejig supply chains to minimise fallout from the Sino-US trade war, according to a leading international business group.
Releasing a report on Tuesday on China’s opening up in the last 18 months since Chinese President Xi Jinping endorsed globalisation in a landmark speech, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China also called on Beijing to create a more level investment field for foreign players.
Chamber president Mats Harborn said member companies were adjusting supply chains around the world to minimise the impact of US tariffs imposed on US$34 billion worth of Chinese goods since Friday. China responded with similar duties on a range of US goods.
Harborn said one company spent last month setting up a new factory in the United States to enable assembly in the US instead of exporting from China.
He also said some European companies were being “awarded” contracts in China at the expense of their US competitors.
“But that is not the way we’d like to get contracts. We want open and fair competition,” Harborn said.
China’s Ministry of Commerce has said that Beijing will help foreign companies in China reduce the effects of the trade row on their business.