Experts say bilateral disputes in steel industry 'happen almost every year'

The trade war between the European Union and China is likely to intensify, as the former is about to file a complaint against the latter at the World Trade Organization over tariffs on its imported stainless steel pipes, said an expert on Thursday.

An official from the Ministry of Commerce who declined to be identified told China Daily that the agency will closely monitor the case.

The EU's action is considered to be a retaliatory move after a series of bilateral trade disputes, especially the latest and largest one that involved the EU imposing tariffs on imports of photovoltaic solar panels produced in China.

Li Junfeng, deputy director of the Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission, has decried trade wars as a method of resolving trade disputes after the United States decided to impose punitive tariffs on China's solar products.

However, the China-EU complaints and disputes surrounding the stainless steel industry are not new, said Beijing-based industry experts.

"The trade complaints against China's steel industry happen almost every year, and it seems that China's steel companies have already become used to it," said Han Jianbiao, a senior steel analyst with Umetal.com, a domestic industrial information provider.

The Chinese government and companies have gradually made progress on protecting the nation's interests.