Ministry of Commerce: China hopes that Europe will not weaponize tariffs and eliminate market barriers.

Recently, Volkswagen announced that it will launch a small electric car priced at 20,000 euros. At the 2025 Munich Motor Show, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, and other EU car companies also unveiled new energy strategies and concept cars. A reporter asked about the EU's strong development of the new energy car industry, while still imposing anti-subsidy taxes on Chinese electric cars. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that China has taken note of the relevant reports. First of all, we congratulate the EU car companies for launching a low-priced small electric car of 20,000 euros, which is in line with market choices and consumer expectations. EU consumers need a variety of products that are more diverse, technologically advanced, and competitively priced. The promotion of electric vehicles in China has driven the electrification and transformation of the industry, and EU car companies are fully capable of adapting to market competition and participating in industry reform. Secondly, the underlying logic that drives the development of the electric vehicle industry is the high performance-to-price ratio brought about by technological innovation and collaboration along the entire industry chain. This is also the fundamental reason why Chinese electric cars are popular among consumers and are driving the global response to climate change, including in the EU. Furthermore, the EU should not raise the banner of climate change on one hand and wave the protectionist stick on the other. Protectionism is a dead end. The EU, merely because of the high performance-to-price ratio of Chinese electric cars, baselessly labels Chinese car companies as receiving "subsidies" and misuses anti-subsidy measures under the guise of unjustified "threats of harm", essentially setting up market barriers and interfering with free competition. Experience has shown that protectionism cannot withstand the strong force of the market, nor can it deter the rational choices of EU consumers. Finally, cooperation is the right path. We welcome EU products to enter the Chinese market and are more willing to promote cooperation in the field of electric vehicles. Collaborations between Volkswagen and Xiaopeng, Stellantis and Lixiang are stimulating innovation in the EU market. Chinese batteries are also injecting powerful energy into European electric vehicles, highlighting the deep integration and strong resilience of the China-EU electric vehicle production supply chain. China hopes that the EU will not weaponize tariffs, eliminate market barriers, encourage fair competition, align with the trend of industrial cooperation, and jointly create a fair, non-discriminatory, and predictable market environment for the development of the industry, making positive contributions to global climate change response and achieving green transformation.