The spokeswoman of the Chinese mission to the European Union (EU) on Wednesday said that China alone cannot settle the photovoltaic dispute, the key to a proper settlement lies in the hands of both sides.

"We don't believe that Chinese photovoltaic exporters are dumping products in the EU market," she said, "The European Commission's accusation is unfair. The imposition of any punitive tariffs is unacceptable."

"As a matter of fact, the abuse of trade remedy measures undoubtedly equals trade protectionism, which runs counter to EU's advocate of free trade and breaches its G20 commitment to resist protectionist measures," she added.

The spokeswoman said that the Chinese government hopes the EU could further exert sincerity and flexibility, and work with China to find a reasonable solution acceptable to both at an early date.

EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht announced Tuesday that the EU has decided to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of solar panels, cells and wafers from China.

EU imports of Chinese solar products would be subject to a punitive duty of 11.8 percent from June 6 to Aug. 6, from when on, the duty will be raised to 47.6 percent, De Gucht said.