FIRST-ROUND negotiations to ease the current solar panel trade spat between China and the European Union by agreeing on the export price of the products have failed, Chinese trade body sources involved in the talks said yesterday.

China and the EU had agreed that talks on such "price undertaking" would be held between representatives of the Chinese solar sector and the union, Wang Guiqing, deputy head of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, said in Beijing.

At the EU's invitation, the chamber sent a negotiation team and put forward pragmatic price undertaking plans, but the EU side turned them down, refusing to answer questions from the Chinese side, he said.

According to a statement on the chamber's website, the EU did not show any sincerity in tackling the problems, leading to the breakdown of the talks.

It said most Chinese and European solar energy companies are looking forward to settling the current problems via talks and the EU should act sincerely in further talks with Chinese representatives on price undertaking.

Wang would not reveal when or where the talks took place or any specific discussions.

A price undertaking basically means exporters raise the export price of a product to avoid the possibility of an anti-dumping duty.

The EU backed a proposal early this month to impose punitive import duties on solar panels from China to prevent what it called the "dumping" of Chinese panel products in Europe.

The harsh measures still have to be reviewed by EU member states and be published in the EU's official journal before taking effect.