China says EU's anti-subsidy probe lacks factual and legal basis

The EU's anti-subsidy probe lacks a factual and legal basis, said He Yadong, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, on Thursday, a day after the European Commission announced it will impose additional tariffs of up to 38.1 percent on China-made electric vehicles (EVs) from July.

"It not only damages the legitimate rights of China's electric vehicle industry, disrupts the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the EU on new energy vehicles, but also distorts the global automotive industry chain and supply chain, including that of the EU," said He.

He added that what the EU has done is a suspected violation of WTO regulations and is completely an act of protectionism. China reserves the right to raise a lawsuit with the WTO and will take all necessary measures to defend the legitimate rights of Chinese enterprises, said the spokesperson.

"We urge the European side to correct its wrong practices immediately and implement the consensus reached at the recent trilateral meeting between the leaders of China, France and the European Union," said He Yadong.

"China and the EU should stick to the right way to get along with each other and handle economic and trade frictions properly through dialogue and consultation to expand cooperation and achieve win-win results in healthy competition," said the spokesperson.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also offered its response to the issue at its regular press conference on Thursday.

"The probe is typical protectionism that ignores objective facts and WTO regulations. It goes against the historical trend and will only harm others and themselves. We urge the EU side to listen carefully to the objective and rational voices of all sectors, correct its wrong actions, and stop politicizing economic and trade issues," Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the remarks when answering a relevant query.

"China has principles that must be defended, that is, WTO regulations and market principles. China also has interests that must be safeguarded, that is, the legitimate rights and interests of China's EV industry and enterprises. To this end, we will resolutely take all necessary measures," said Lin.