China to conduct trade inspections on nearly 2,500 Taiwanese products
Beijing, Apr 13 (EFE).- China will closely monitor 2,455 Taiwanese products to ascertain if they conform to Chinese fair trade regulations.
The measure affects agriculture, textile, metallurgical and mining products, besides construction materials, rubber, plastic, and chemicals, the official Taiwanese news agency CNA reported.
The authorities will inspect construction materials, rubber, plastics, and chemicals.
The Chinese commerce ministry said it initiated the step at the behest of several trade-related bodies.
The initiative comes amid new tensions between China and Taiwan, sparked by President Tsai Ing-wen’s stopover in the United States on her way to a Central American trip.
Tsai met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles during her short stay in the US.
The inspection will last until Oct.12 but has room for an extension until January next year.
Taiwan has criticized the move measure, saying it was a pressure tactic on the island and could prove counterproductive to the advancement of cross-strait trade.
A Mainland Affairs Council statement said Taiwanese authorities would not allow importing more than 2,000 Chinese agricultural and industrial products to prevent impacts on local industries and ensure national security.
The decision dates back to the early 2000s after the two sides joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).
MAC stressed that it would closely follow the development of the inspections and provide the exporting companies with any help they required.
In August last year, China responded with numerous trade sanctions on Taiwan after a controversial visit to the island by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, considering it a rebel province since Kuomintang nationalists withdrew there in 1949 after losing the civil war against the communists. EFE
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