CHINA’S Ministry of Commerce said it is disappointed at the European Commission’s decision to launch a probe into Chinese exporters of electronic bicycles, adding that Europe misunderstands the Chinese market.

The European Commission launched an investigation Dec. 21 into whether Chinese exporters of e-bikes benefited from excessive State subsidies, the latest in a string of European probes into Chinese exports ranging from solar panels to steel.

China’s e-bike market is fully market-based, said ministry spokesman Gao Feng at a regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

The European Bicycle Manufacturing Association (EBMA) wants the European Commission to impose duties on Chinese e-bikes.

“China hopes the European Union will respect World Trade Organization rules,” Gao said.

Europeans buy some 20 million bicycles per year, of which about 10 percent are now e-bikes, with the potential to rise to a quarter of sales within five years.

European companies pioneered the pedal-assist technology that e-bikes use and invested 1 billion euros (US$1.2 billion) last year, the EBMA said, but they risk losing out to Chinese rivals whose share of the EU market has risen to about 33 percent with prices sometimes half those of European makers.

Chinese producers, including Battle-Fushida, Aima and Tianjin Golden Wheel, sold e-bikes worth some 307 million euros in the EU in the year to Sept. 30.

The EBMA wants the European Commission to impose duties on Chinese e-bikes and also to register imports immediately so that any duties eventually set could also apply to e-bikes that enter the EU market in the coming months.

The association said that more than 430,000 Chinese e-bikes were sold in the EU in 2016, up 40 percent from the previous year, and forecasts the figure will rise to 800,0000 in 2017.

Wang Hejun, head of the Ministry of Commerce trade remedy and investigation bureau, said in October that the EU’s investigation on Chinese electric bikes is incompatible with consumer interests and the EU’s efforts to combat climate change.

Bicycles provide a green means of commuting and are popular among a number of consumers, including those in Europe and China, said Wang.

As both sides have similar standpoints and objectives in combating climate change, China hopes the EU will use caution when launching the trade probe, Wang said. (SD-Agencies)