China, EU agree to solve disputes through negotiation

BEIJING - China and the European Union have agreed to solve the photovoltaic trade dispute through "price undertaking" talks and the two sides are making this effort, said Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng on Friday.

Gao made the remarks after Friday's ministerial-level meeting between the two sides.

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht also said the EU would seek to solve the issue in a friendly way.

Earlier this month, the EU imposed an interim anti-dumping duty of 11.8 percent on imports of all Chinese solar panel products, including panels, cells and wafers. The duty may be raised to an average of 47.6 percent two months after going into effect if both sides fail to come to an agreement.

The Chinese government and PV enterprises have kept close contact with the European Commission regarding "price undertaking" talks.

China has urged the EU to keep overall China-EU cooperation in mind and take a pragmatic attitude.

Prior to the meeting, Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said China and the EU should embrace the opportunity to unite their efforts and reach a mutually acceptable agreement.