After China's countermeasures against pork, Spain was the first to suffer, and Russia was ready to take over

Brother Jian's ideological and political class

2024-06-18 18:30Published in Shanxi "Global Times" Chinese edition executive deputy editor, senior media person

Recently, following the EU's announcement of an increase in tariffs on China's electric vehicles, China has also taken the next step of countermeasures.

The Chinese side said that from now on, it will initiate an anti-dumping investigation on imported pork and its by-products originating in EU countries.

(Pork stall in a vegetable market in Beijing)

And this move can be regarded as a stone that stirs up a thousand waves, and Spain is the first to sit still and says that it wants to negotiate peace with China.

A few days ago, Spain's Minister of Agriculture Planas issued a statement saying that he believes that China and the EU still have room for mutual understanding and negotiation, and hopes and looks forward to establishing further communication with the Chinese side to avoid China imposing tariffs on their agricultural products and food. He also repeatedly stressed to the Chinese side that he believes that "the trade war will not benefit any country".

Similarly, Spain's Minister of Economy and Trade, Carlos Cuirpo, has also declared that the Spanish government is seeking a solution to the trade problem through the European Union, hoping to avoid further escalation of China's countermeasures.

And the reason why Spain has reacted so much is simple.

According to foreign media reports, last year alone, China imported more than 6 billion US dollars of pork products. More than half of these pork products come from EU countries. China is the largest overseas market for pork from EU countries.

And these pork products also include many parts that are not favored in Europe, such as pig ears, noses, and pig feet. Therefore, if the Chinese market is lost, it will be difficult for the EU to find other alternative markets, and the European meat industry will suffer huge losses, and Spain is one of the countries that have suffered the most losses.

After all, according to incomplete statistics, China imports pork from the European Union, and the main suppliers are Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries. Spain, in particular, is China's largest pork supplier, accounting for 21% of China's total pork imports.

(China is the EU's largest overseas market for pork)

However, it is worth mentioning that this consequence is also the result of Spain's own suffering.

Because although Spain is a major pork exporter to China, it is also the main promoter of the electric vehicle tariffs.

China warned EU countries before the EU initiated the tariffs, and if they insist on going their own way, China will immediately take corresponding countermeasures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

Not only that, but the Chinese side not only launched an anti-dumping investigation, but even found a good next home in advance in the supply of pork.

In fact, at the same time that the Chinese side announced the launch of an anti-dumping investigation, delegations from the Russian Federation's Agricultural Committee and the Food Policy Committee also paid a working visit to China a few days ago.

After returning to China, they issued a statement saying that because China is very interested in many Russian agricultural products, but it believes that it is in a state of competition with many countries, Russia announced that it will increase its competitive advantages in terms of quality, price, and speed of cooperation in the future.

And in this field of pork, Nikita Gusakov, senior vice president of the Russian Export Center, has made a special statement that he is determined to make Russia one of the three major pork suppliers in the Chinese market, and even launched a special "meat line" for this purpose.

Since the beginning of the year, Russia has exported 4,700 tons of pork to China. But this is far from the limit, the president of the China Overseas Development Association said that Sino-Russian trade will continue to grow, and there will be a lot of room for growth in the future.

(Chairman of the Federation Council for Agriculture, Alexander Dvoynykh)

Therefore, the message from Russia that it wants to seize the Chinese market also means that the meat industry in the EU will suffer a greater impact at any time.

For example, Spain, as a major agricultural exporter, accounts for about 3.8% of Spain's GDP and employs about 4.2% of the total employed population. Agricultural exports generate about 30 billion euros per year, accounting for about 17% of total merchandise exports, and are one of the important pillars of Spain's economy.

According to the data of the Spanish Swine Federation, Spain will export more than 560,000 tons of pork-related products to China in 2023, with a value of up to 1.2 billion euros.

Therefore, China is an important market for Spanish pork exports, and the loss of this market will lead to a sharp decline in Spanish pork exports, which will bring a heavy blow to the local agriculture and economy. A large amount of pork is stranded in the domestic market, and the oversupply will also lead to a decline in pork prices, bringing operating pressure to farmers and slaughtering enterprises. Jobs in farms, slaughterhouses, logistics and other related jobs in the pork industry chain may be affected by layoffs.

(European Meat Factory)

Not only that, China is still the world's largest importer of agricultural products, and many agricultural products from EU countries will flow into the Chinese market in large quantities. It should also know that if it destroys its relationship with China, it will lose its priority to seize market share, which will bring serious losses to its own agricultural economy.

Therefore, in this context, Spain, which is now actively seeking peace, can be regarded as a negative teaching material for EU countries. If you can't grasp the Chinese market, then give it to others, after all, some people do it in China's market.

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Personal opinion, for reference only