China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Friday that it has opened two anti-dumping investigations into industrial imports from the European Union and Japan, the latest move in a widening trade-remedy fight between Beijing and Brussels.

Source: China Ministry of Commerce via BCCCI

The first probe covers para-aramid filament yarns imported from the EU — a heat-resistant, high-strength synthetic fibre used in cars, fibre-optic cables and bulletproof vests. The second covers ethylidene norbornene (ENB) imported from the EU and Japan, a chemical used to make synthetic rubber for car window seals, hoses, construction materials and some plastics, according to ministry announcements reported by the South China Morning Post.

What the ministry says the evidence shows

Both investigations were opened after applications from Chinese domestic industries, a ministry spokesperson said. Preliminary evidence submitted by the applicants showed that imports of EU para-aramid filament yarns stayed high from 2023 through the first half of 2026 while their prices fell by more than 50 percent over the same period.

For ENB, the evidence showed imports from the EU and other markets rose by a cumulative 27.35 percent between 2023 and 2025 and were up 56 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026, with prices trending lower overall, the spokesperson said. The applicants allege the imports were dumped — sold below fair price — and hurt Chinese producers. Reuters reported the ENB investigation will examine alleged dumping between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, and is in principle to be completed by November 6, 2027.

Source: Reuters via TradingView

Beijing points the finger back at Brussels

The ministry spokesperson pointed to a sharp rise in EU trade-remedy investigations involving Chinese products: Brussels has opened 16 such cases so far this year, nearly twice as many as in the same period last year, and nine of them — nearly 60 percent — involve chemical products. Since mid-October the bloc has launched a series of anti-dumping probes into Chinese goods including furfuryl alcohol and polyvinylidene fluoride, the spokesperson added.

"China will conduct the investigations in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, fully protect the rights of all interested parties and issue objective and impartial rulings," the spokesperson said, adding that China has taken what it called a prudent and restrained approach to trade remedies. "The EU should face up to its own economic and trade challenges. Protectionism cannot improve competitiveness. Dialogue and consultation are the right way to address each other's concerns."

The probes come less than a month after Beijing and Brussels agreed to stabilise economic relations, and anti-dumping investigations of this kind often end in extra tariffs. What happens next is the investigation itself: both are due to conclude within one year, though each can be extended by six months, and any preliminary findings in the coming months will show whether duties follow.