China's commerce ministry urges France to halt anti-ultra-fast-fashion law implementation

BEIJING -- France's anti-ultra-fast-fashion law is suspected of violating the non-discrimination principle of the World Trade Organization, China's Ministry of Commerce spokeswoman Huang Ling said on Thursday.

The law, under the pretext of setting so-called "environmental protection" and "sustainability" standards, employs a double standard, Huang told a regular news conference.

Huang urged France to immediately stop implementing the law and properly resolve differences in the sustainable textile trade sector between the two sides through equal dialogue, so as to create a fair and non-discriminatory market environment for Chinese-invested enterprises.

Huang added that if France insists on proceeding with the law, China will take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese-invested enterprises, and France will bear all resulting consequences.

In late July, when asked to comment on French officials explicitly identifying cross-border e-commerce platforms, including Shein, Temu and AliExpress, as the primary targets of the legislation, the ministry said the law imposed discriminatory restrictions on Chinese-invested platforms and severely distorted fair competition through legislation.

The ministry said in July that the law constitutes a trade barrier against China and seriously deviates from the principles of fair competition and free trade that France has publicly advocated.