China presses France to drop ‘protectionist’ anti-fast fashion law

China’s Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) said on Thursday it had held talks with French companies operating in China and reiterated calls for France to stop using its “anti-fast fashion law” to undermine the rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.

According to ministry spokesperson Huang Ling, public reports suggested some French companies had received subsidies from the European Union and its member states, and that this support might have been “partly passed through to their Chinese-based entities”.

The discussions with French companies were aimed at “seeking information and requesting explanations” to “assess the impact”, Huang noted.

The ministry also addressed recent French legislation aimed at regulating “ultra-fast-fashion” companies, urging Paris to halt its implementation immediately. The rules, it said, had “clear trade protectionist traits”, despite being promoted as measures to protect the environment and promote sustainability.

The law uses “plainly targeted standards and parameters to discriminate against and suppress Chinese cross-border e-commerce operators. The rules would severely distort fair competition”, Huang said.

Under the French legislation, clothing qualifies as “ultra-fast fashion” based on two criteria: the volume of clothing placed on the market and garment repair costs relative to the retail price.