France backs plan for punitive EU levies on China

France on Tuesday said it backed European moves to impose punitive levies on solar panels imported from China, a measure opposed by several states including Germany.

Large solar panels are seen in a power plant in Hami, China's Xinjiang region, on May 8, 2013. France has said it backed European moves to impose punitive levies on solar panels imported from China, a measure opposed by several states including Germany.

European Union member states are due to vote on June 5 whether to impose a massive 47 percent tariff on solar panels made by its second-largest trading partner, with the outcome of the vote uncertain.

"I hail the reaction of the European Commission ... even though it's delayed it is welcome," said Ecology and Energy Minister Delphine Batho, adding that "the rules of international trade must be applied."

"We will have the chance to tell our Chinese partners that we wish to broadly refashion trade between China and the European Union, including in renewable energy," Batho told reporters.

Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg also expressed his support saying France wanted a "more equal relationship between China and the European Union."

Trade disputes between the EU and China have burgeoned. Beijing is mulling a second anti-dumping move against European industry in less than two weeks after a complaint against European companies making unwelded pipes.

This has sparked concern that the two sides could drift into a trade war despite hugely important ties worth more than 500 billion euros ($ 646 billion).