China accuses EU of foul play, says escalation could trigger 'trade war'

China's Commerce Ministry on Thursday accused the European Union of making unreasonable demands in its investigation into imports of Chinese electric vehicles before announcing it was raising tariffs by as much as 38 per cent.

Ministry spokesman He Yadong said the European side had demanded excessive amounts of information from Chinese automakers and then unfairly accused the Chinese companies of failing to cooperate.

The types, scope, and amount of information collected by the European side are unprecedented, far exceeding the requirements of anti-subsidy investigations, He said. He said that included requiring details on manufacturing and development, technology and product formulas, among other aspects, from Chinese electric vehicle and battery companies.

"After Chinese companies did their best to cooperate with the investigation and provided information, the European Commission still unreasonably accused Chinese companies of not fully cooperating and imposed punitive high tax ..