Xi leaves for EU trip, nuclear summit
March 22, 2014, 3:48 am

President Xi Jinping will attend the third Nuclear Security Summit(NSS) in The Hague from March 24-25 [Xinhua]

China and the EU are widely expected to announce a major trade deal at the conclusion of Xi’s trip. In an early indication, China on Friday announced it was ending a trade probe against EU imports into the country.

China will close an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probe into wine imports from the EU after industries of the two sides reached an agreement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Friday.

Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng was quoted by the statement as saying that consensus creation through negotiations is the best way to settle trade disputes under WTO rules.

China’s Minister of Commerce also said he hoped disputes over wireless communication products with EU would also be solved soon.

China had initiated year-long anti-dumping investigations on July 1, 2013 into wine imports from the EU, especially from main producers in France, Spain and Italy, in response to complaints from domestic associations.

Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping will attend the third Nuclear Security Summit(NSS) in The Hague from March 24-25 and also meet his US counterpart Barack Obama, the first between the two presidents this year.

The Ukraine crisis and sanctions against Russia are expected to cast a shadow over the NSS meet next week.

Both India and China have supported Russia’s stand in the current crisis and spoken out against sanctions.

Xi had earlier in February hailed growing ties with Moscow, which he said frequently challenged Western domination of global affairs.

“China and Russia should from this day forward continue deepening our consultations and cooperation on major international issues and together maintain world and regional peace, security and stability,” Xi told Putin in Sochi earlier this year.

Russia and China, both permanent members of the UNSC, coordinated successfully to prevent a US-led military strike in Syria. Both have vetoed three UN resolutions that sought to condemn the Syrian government for the civil war in the country.

TBP and Agencies