Aokang court victory has 'positive impact'

For six years, Chinese shoemaker Aokang has been mired in an EU dumping investigation. On Sunday, the company was cleared of all dumping charges alleged by the European Commission.

The European Union's highest court ruled in Aokang's favour, and awarded the company damages of 5 million yuan ($1 million). These include tariff refunds and legal costs. On Tuesday, the spokesman for China's Commerce Ministry, Shen Danyang said that the victory has three big positive impacts on international trade.

"First of all, it has distinguished right from wrong. The EU Court of Justice's verdict has ruled that the European Union has not treated Chinese firms fairly when it carried out the anti-dumping investigations. In the past, the EU did not admit it was unfair, unequal or discriminating towards Chinese enterprises. So the verdict has drafted a clear line between right and wrong. Secondly, it has given out a warning to the EU, which limits the EU's scope to abuse anti-dumping measures. Thirdly it set out good example for Chinese enterprises to protect their own rights through legal actions," Shen Danyang said.