France urged to stop suppressing Chinese firms via anti-ultra-fast fashion law

BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- France has been urged to take China's position seriously and immediately stop using its anti-ultra-fast-fashion law to undermine the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.

Huang Ling, a spokesperson for the Chinese commerce ministry, said on Thursday that France's anti-ultra-fast-fashion law and the rules of its implementation set clearly targeted standards to discriminatorily restrict and suppress Chinese cross-border e-commerce companies.

These unfair practices, in the name of "environmental protection" and "sustainability," will severely distort fair competition, Huang told a regular press conference.

France's actual practices have gone beyond the scope of environmental protection and are clearly protectionist in nature, she said, adding that China has repeatedly expressed its concerns over this matter to the French side.

Huang noted that China consistently opposes the abuse of trade and economic restrictive measures, and urges France to properly handle trade and economic differences through dialogue.

China will closely follow the subsequent developments and take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, she said.

The spokesperson also said the ministry recently asked several French companies operating in China to provide relevant information and explanations as public reports showed that some French companies had received relevant subsidies from the EU and its member states, which may to some extent be passed on to their entities in China.