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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, February 07, 2002

Imports from 4 Countries Under Investigation for Unfair Competition

China has decided to start an anti-dumping investigation into art paper imported from the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United States and Finland.
The investigation relates to imported art paper listed under "48101100'' and "48101200'' in the tariff of the General Administration of Customs. The Investigation was brought into effect Wednesday by the MOFTEC.


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The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC) made the announcement Wednesday, bringing the investigation into effect, according to MOFTEC sources.

Investigation Relates to Imported Art Paper

The investigation relates to imported art paper listed under "48101100'' and "48101200'' in the tariff of the General Administration of Customs.

MOFTEC launched investigations into the case Wednesday and will decide whether dumping took place, and if so, whether it infringed upon China's regulations on anti-dumping.

In the meantime, the State Economic and Trade Commission will investigate any damage done to China's industries from the alleged dumping.

Case Reported by Chinese Companies

According to MOFTEC sources, the dumping case was reported by Goldeast Paper Co Ltd in Jiangsu Province, Shandong Wanhao Paper Group Co Ltd, Shandong Quanlin Paper Co Ltd and Jiangnan Paper Company in Shanghai.

The combined production of the four enterprises makes up over 60 per cent of the total art paper output in China.

  • About Goldeast Paper Co., Ltd.


    • Goldeast Paper Co Ltd is one of the 13 enterprises run by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) in China. APP, headquartered in Singapore, is the largest paper enterprise in Asia. As the largest among the four art paper producers in China, Goldeast is capable of turning out one-half of the country's total domestically produced art paper annually.

  • About Art Paper


    • Art paper is the highest grade paper used in the printing industry. China started manufacturing art paper two years ago. Before, the country relied on imports to ease the art paper shortage, said Deng Deyong, vice-managing director of APP China.

    Competition and Price War Triggered

  • Market Share of the Four Countries


    • The Republic of Korea is the largest art paper exporter to China. Art paper imported from the country makes up about 40 per cent of China's total imports. Imports from Japan, the United States and Finland each account for about 10 per cent of the total imports, Deng said.

  • Price War Started


    • Due to the increasingly improved quality of home-made paper, Chinese customers have started to switch from using imported art paper to paper made at home.

    To regain market share, producers of the imported art paper began to cut their prices on the Chinese market last year, triggering a price war.

    According to statistics, China's annual demand for art paper is about 1.7 million tons. The country is now capable of producing 1.4 million tons of such paper. However, China's annual imports of art paper have exceeded 1 million tons for the last three successive years. About 1.03 million tons were imported last year.

    "Foreign art paper pouring into China at low prices has seriously damaged the country's art paper industry,'' Deng said.

    Art paper makers have been forced to cut employment and reduce production. Economic losses have brought enterprises into great difficulties.

  • Application for Investigation to Protect Interests


    • To protect their own interests, the four domestic enterprises -- one Sino-foreign joint venture and three State-owned companies -- put forward an application for an investigation into anti-dumping.

    The case, the first anti-dumping one put forward by Chinese enterprises since China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) last December, has aroused great attention from related Chinese governmental departments.

    Chinese Art Paper Industry Still Young

    Deng told China Daily that the art paper tariff will be cut from 15 per cent to 9 per cent this year, and it will be further reduced to 5 per cent in two years.

    Compared with its foreign counterparts, the art paper industry is still young in China. "We should use WTO rules and regulations to protect our interests,'' Deng said.

    Apart from stopping anti dumping, Chinese enterprises should make greater efforts to improve the quality of their products, update management methods and increase efficiency to thrive in the heated competition.

    "I am confident that we can survive even if the tariff continues to drop down to zero,'' he said.



    China to Better Protect Domestic Enterprises Against Anti-dumping

    To support the promulgation of the Anti-dumping, Anti-subsidy and Protection Measures in order to create a fair trade environment and better protect Chinese enterprises, December 12 saw a symposium on the three regulations held by Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) in Beijing.

  • More Pressure for Domestic Enterprises

  • Protection Measures


    • China Introduces Anti-Dumping Law

    The State Council issued an order Monday, announcing that the country's Anti-dumping Statute, which includes regulations concerning dumping and damage, anti-dumping investigations, anti- dumping measures and an anti-dumping tax, will be effective from January 1, 2002.

    Full Text of the Anti-dumping Statute(Chinese version)


    Source: China Daily

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