The European Union initiated an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) last year, and recently, in October, voted to implement tariffs on these imports. In response, China has urged France to play a constructive role in influencing the European Commission towards a mutually beneficial resolution, according to a statement from China’s commerce ministry on Monday.
In a meeting with French junior trade minister Sophie Primas in Shanghai on Sunday, China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao emphasized that the EU’s investigation into Chinese EVs is a significant issue, posing serious challenges to EU-China cooperation in the auto sector. While the EU’s inquiry has sparked concerns in China, Wang stated that China’s recent trade remedy measures—such as investigations into European dairy and pork, along with temporary anti-dumping measures on brandy from the EU—are compliant with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and were prompted by domestic industry applications.
Wang urged that China is committed to adhering to lawful investigative practices and will safeguard the rights of EU member companies, including those from France, basing its actions on factual evidence. Nevertheless, he indicated China’s openness to collaborating with the European Commission to reach a suitable resolution, without providing further specifics. China’s ongoing investigations, which include an anti-subsidy probe into EU dairy products since August and a focused investigation on EU pork imports since June, reflect the complexity of the trade dynamic between the two economies.
