Sino-EU trade relations could be harmed by a growing number of niggling irritants seen in recent months, a senior EU official warned yesterday.
"We have to watch it carefully... too many irritants would dampen the enthusiasm for increased trade relations and exchanges," said Klaus Ebermann, heading up a European Commission mission to Beijing.
He said so far there had only been "isolated cases" with "no nasty strategy behind it" since Beijing's entry to the WTO last year. But "if it reaches critical mass we'll have to deal with it," he warned.
The last squabble between the two trading partners flared over the tight safety standards which Beijing wanted to impose on mobile telephones destined for the China market, especially over radiation emissions.
The proposals raised hackles among European manufacturers Nokia and Ericsson, and US producer Motorola, who argued that the measures -- which would be twice as strict as those currently applied in the EU -- would put the brakes on the growth of China's lucrative mobile telecoms market.
China now has more users of mobile telephones than any other country in the world, with 166 million subscribers at the end of April. Ebermann said the issues of radiation emissions would be raised next week during a visit to Beijing by an EU delegation specialized in information technology.
"It is essential to work towards a common standard," he said, while praising Beijing's decision to make safety a top priority.
The cellphone argument was used by the Chinese authorities to impose restrictions on EU animal products in a tit-for-tat move after Brussels in January suspended imports of Chinese animal products allegedly containing a banned antibiotic.
The EU partially lifted the ban at the start of May.
Beijing however has extended its restrictions to cosmetic products, demanding they be accompanied by a certificate from Brussels guaranteeing they do not contain ingredients contaminated with mad cow disease.
There have been other minor rows over Chinese lighters deemed by the EU to be unsafe, while Beijing has haggled over imports of Mercedes-Benz minibuses.
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