China’s Ministry of Commerce has received complaints from some domestic automakers unhappy that the European Commission requested sensitive business information concerning their sourcing of raw materials for batteries and manufacturing components during its investigation into the country’s subsidised electric vehicle imports. “The type, scope and quantity of information collected by the European side was unprecedented and far more than what is required for a countervailing duties investigation,” He Yadong, a commerce ministry spokesperson told a news conference on June 20. The comments were made when Chinese state radio asked about the possibility of Brussels spying on China’s EV industry and came after MG’s owner SAIC said it had withheld information related to battery formulation from the EU investigators, citing business confidentiality. Beijing and Brussels on June 22 agreed to start consultations over the EU’s anti-subsidy probe against China-made EVs. [Reuters, TechNode reporting]

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