China said on Tuesday it has filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over U.S. subsidies for new-energy vehicles (NEVs) under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The complaint was filed to protect the interests of Chinese NEV enterprises and to maintain an environment of fair competition in the global NEV industry, said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in a statement.

The U.S. government has formulated discriminatory subsidy policies for new energy vehicles in the IRA, excluding products from China and other WTO members, according to the statement.

This has distorted fair competition, seriously disrupted global NEV industrial and supply chains, and violated WTO rules such as national treatment and most-favored-nation treatment, it said.

China firmly opposes the discriminatory act, it added.

According to the statement, China firmly stands for a rules-based multilateral trading system and respects the legitimate rights of WTO members to implement industrial subsidies within the framework of WTO rules and promote their own economic and social development.

China urges the U.S. to abide by WTO rules, respect the development trend of the global NEV industry, promptly correct its discriminatory industrial policies and maintain the stability of the global NEV industry and supply chains, according to the statement.

(Cover: Workers operate at the final assembly workshop of an automobile company in the new energy vehicle town of Jinhua City, east China's Zhejiang Province, December 17, 2021. /Xinhua)