China expressed strong dissatisfaction on Wednesday over the European Union’s countervailing duty investigation on Chinese electric vehicles, saying that the probe is based only on subjective assumptions about the so-called subsidized manners and threats of damage and lacks sufficient evidence to support the claim, which is inconsistent with relevant WTO rules.
“The EU required China to conduct consultations within a very short period of time and failed to provide consultation materials, which seriously damaged China’s rights,” a spokesperson from China’s Commerce Ministry said in an answer to the press, adding that the investigative measures planned by the EU are to protect its own industries in the name of “fair trade” and are in fact pure protectionism that will disrupt and distort the global automotive industry and supply chains, including in the EU, causing a negative impact on China-EU economic and trade relations.
China urges the EU to use trade remedy measures prudently and maintain the stability of the global industrial and supply chains and the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, the spokesperson added. The EU should encourage cooperation in the new energy industry represented by electric vehicles and create a fair, non-discriminatory and predictable environment for the common development of the China-EU electric vehicle industry, the spokesperson stressed.
China will pay close attention to the EU’s follow-up investigation procedures and firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, the spokesperson said.
