China hopes Spain will push the European Union to support and encourage the new energy industry to deepen cooperation and create a fair and predictable development environment, according to its commerce ministry.
In remarks aimed at addressing the EU's probe into China's electric vehicles sector, Minister Wang Wentao emphasised the need to safeguard global joint efforts to combat climate change and the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership.
China hoped Spain would encourage the EU to maintain an open attitude in the field of green and new energy, he said. The EU's investigation into China's EV industry amounted to protectionism, he added.
Last October, the European Union Commission launched an investigation into whether to impose punitive tariffs to protect EU producers against cheaper Chinese electric vehicle imports it says are receiving distortive state subsidies.
It last week said it would postpone a decision until after the European Parliament election on June 9.
China has repeatedly rebuked the EU for its probe.
At a meeting on Monday with the Spanish ministers for economy and industry in Madrid, Wang said China was willing to work with Spain to increase trade, promote two-way investments and broaden cooperation.
In a separate statement, the Chinese ministry also said it had set up a coordination mechanism for foreign-funded enterprises to express their difficulties about doing business in China. It gave no details.
European firms that rank China as a top investment destination hit a record low, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said last month, attributing the sentiment to China's ailing economy and less predictable policy direction.
