EU says any retaliatory trade probe by China must be ‘based on facts’

China must stick to the facts if it is to launch trade investigations into European products. That was the message from the European Union’s trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis in an interview in Brussels on Wednesday, in response to a veiled Chinese threat that it would retaliate over the bloc’s trade measures against it.

The EU is investigating industrial subsidies in China’s electric vehicle sector, which could result in duties being imposed on their imports, while it is rumoured that other products are being lined up for scrutiny.