Transport ministry looks to Asia

"When it comes down to imported goods, it's much easier to draw a link between very low prices and the implicit subsidy," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, who added that much of China's subsidies come in the form of its enormous currency reserves, which keep the yuan at artificial lows. But civil engineering projects abroad are trickier when it comes to proving state help, especially since the firms must largely rely on local labour and resources... "This is quite a new thing, at least for Central and Eastern Europe," Tilford said. "It's certainly an issue elsewhere in the world where Chinese contractors are winning over local companies by undercutting costs." ...COVEC's extremely low prices may very well not even be profitable, he speculated. "They may be just trying to buy market share and establish themselves in these markets," he said.