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and consumers." As Germany and China have amutual position in opposing trade protectionism,Li looked forward to Germany playing an activerole in promoting the resolution of the on-goingtrade friction, and maintaining the overall situationof China-EU economic and trade cooperation.In reply, Merkel confirmed that Germany didindeed advocate cooperation to resolve problems,so as to maintain an expansion of tradeand mutual commercial benefits. She promisedto do everything she could to avoid the impositionof stringent duties, with both sides seekingcommon ground to resolve the disputes asquickly as possible.EU, China Hold MeetingOn Trade DisputesFollowing the meeting in Berlin between ChinesePremier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor AngelaMerkel, during which both countries professedtheir intention to resolve all trade conflicts by negotiation,rather than the imposition of substantialduties, European Trade Commissioner Karel DeGucht met Chinese Vice-Minister of CommerceZhong Shan in Brussels.It was disclosed, earlier in May, that the EuropeanCommission (EC) is considering launching its ownanti-dumping duty (AD) and anti-subsidy countervailingduty (CVD) investigations of imports intothe European Union (EU) of mobile telecommunicationsequipment from China, totaling aroundEUR1bn (USD1.29bn) per year.In addition, in what has become a more pressingproblem due to provisional determinations beingexpected early next month, the EC is readyingsubstantial ADs and, subsequently, CVDsagainst Chinese exporters of solar panels and solarcells into the EU. In 2011, China exported solarpanels and their key components worth aroundEUR21bn to the EU.At the meeting in Brussels on May 27, which hadalready been organized for a China-EU Trade andInvestment Policy Dialogue, Zhong reiterated thatthe EU's impending actions could seriously hurtthe Chinese companies and workers involved andseriously sour trade and economic cooperation betweenthe two sides.He stressed that "such practices of trade protectionismare not acceptable to China." Given the largevalue of bilateral trade between China and the EU,he added that "it is only natural to see some tradefriction. The right focus should be on resolvingthose frictions appropriately. Taking abrupt andunilateral action does not help problem-solving,but will rather set the parties further apart and aggravatethe tensions."If the EU were to impose provisional ADs on Chinesesolar panels and to initiate an ex officio caseon Chinese wireless communications network,Zhong confirmed that "the Chinese governmentwould not sit on the sidelines, but would rathertake necessary steps to defend its national interest."Nevertheless, Zhong believed that the meeting in55