China criticises EU's new tariffs on electric vehicles: Video

Speaking on Wednesday, August 21, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning condemned the EU’s decision as protectionist and politically motivated.

“Regarding EU tariffs, I want to stress that this investigation is a typical protectionist and politically-driven act. It ignores objective facts, disregards WTO rules, goes against the historical trend, and damages the EU's green transformation process and global efforts to address climate change. With this decision, the EU will only harm itself,” Mao Ning said.

She further urged the EU to reconsider its stance. “We urge the EU to correct immediately its erroneous practices, stop politicising, instrumentalizing, and weaponizing economic and trade issues, show sincerity and work towards the same direction as China, accelerate the exploration of appropriate solutions, avoid the escalation of trade frictions, and avoid affecting mutual trust and cooperation between China and the EU. China will take all necessary measures to defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies resolutely," she added.

In response to the EU’s import decision, Beijing launched its own investigation into European subsidies for certain dairy products imported into China.

The probe targets key aspects of the EU’s framework, including the common agricultural policy and national subsidy programs in countries like Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Croatia, Finland, Romania, and the Czech Republic, as AFP reports.

The European brandy and pork exports were previously under investigation by the Chinese Commerce Ministry during different phases of the EU's inquiry into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles. These reciprocal investigations have caused worries about increasing trade tensions between the EU and China.