On August 20, the European Commission bared a draft of the final ruling of its duty investigation against China's electric vehicles. The EC seeks to impose duties ranging from 17 to 36.3 percent on China's electric vehicles, with a separate tariff of nine percent on Tesla's electric vehicles made in China.

The EC decision did not sit well with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, which said that the EC ruling is based on so-called "facts" determined solely by the European side, and fell short of fully considering the Chinese position. Under the guise of defending fairness, the EU is actually undermining fair competition, casting a protectionist shadow on free trade.

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU has said that there is no sufficient evidence to show that China's new energy vehicles have caused substantial damage to the EU market. The EC argument is based on speculation with the possibility of determining the threat of "damage." The imposition of trade measures is unfair and unacceptable to the industry.

The EC is unfairly using trade tools to impede free trade in electric vehicles. This protectionist approach will hurt the resilience of the European automotive industry itself, damage the legitimate interests of China's EV manufactures and hurt EU consumers. Also, it will hinder the EU's own green transition and the broader global cooperation in combating climate change.

(To submit cartoons and share story ideas or feedback on our cartoon page, please contact us at cartoon_opinions@cgtn.com)