China deplores EU plan to impose provisional duties on Chinese EVs

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China is strongly dissatisfied with the European Union's plan to impose provisional duties on imports of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), the commerce ministry said Wednesday, noting the move has ignored facts and World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

The EU side has ignored China's repeated strong objections, as well as the appeals and dissuasions from the governments and industry in EU member states, said a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

"China is deeply concerned and strongly dissatisfied with this development. China's related industries are profoundly disappointed and firmly oppose this," said the spokesperson.

The findings by the European side in the pre-disclosure lacks both factual and legal basis, the spokesperson said, adding that the European Commission has ignored the fact that the Chinese EV industry's advantages stem from openness and competition. The European Commission also disregarded WTO rules, and failed to acknowledge the full cooperation of relevant Chinese enterprises during the investigation, said the spokesperson.

The European Commission, by arbitrarily creating and exaggerating China's "subsidy items" as well as abusing the "facts available," ruled that China offered subsidies at excessively high levels, according to the spokesperson.

Such an action is "blatant protectionism" that will create and escalate trade frictions, said the spokesperson, adding that the move not only undermines the legitimate rights and interests of China's EV industry, but also disrupts and distorts the global automotive industrial and supply chains, including those in the EU.

While holding high the banner of green development in one hand, the European Commission wields the stick of trade protectionism in the other, politicizing economic and trade issues and using them as tools, said the spokesperson. "This violates the consensuses reached by the leaders of China and the EU countries to strengthen cooperation, and will affect the atmosphere of bilateral economic and trade cooperation between China and the EU. It does no good to the interests of EU consumers, and will eventually undermine the overall progress of the EU's green transformation and global cooperation on climate change."

China urges the EU to rectify its wrong-doing immediately, implement the important consensuses reached during the recent China-France-EU trilateral meeting, and address economic and trade frictions through dialogue.

The spokesperson said that China will take all necessary measures to defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.