China protests Europe’s new wind-turbine probe and report alleging ‘distortions in the economy’
- State subsidies are in Brussels’ cross hairs as world’s largest windpower producer exports low-cost turbines to quench global demand for clean power
- Move comes as China’s clean-energy space faces overcapacity concerns that have recently garnered more attention in bilateral bickering
Beijing has voiced strong opposition to the European Commission’s plan to investigate Chinese wind turbines over state subsidies and has decried a report from Brussels alleging “distortions in the economy” – developments expected to further strain two-way ties but not deter China in the long run.
The European Commission’s executive vice-president, Margrethe Vestager, said during a speech in the United States on Tuesday that her agency, an operating body for the 27-member European Union, plans to conduct an investigation into subsidies offered for wind turbines in China, according to the commission website.
On Wednesday, the commission’s director for trade defence, Martin Lukas, said via LinkedIn that his agency had published an updated report on “significant state-induced distortions in the economy” in China.
A Chinese Ministry of Commerce official met Lukas the same day in Brussels to rebut both the planned probe and the report, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.