Beijing: The Chinese government filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation on Friday over the European Union's imposition of provisional additional tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, China Daily reported.

The EU has imposed provisional tariffs on EVs made in China, in the range of 17.4 per cent to 37.6 per cent which is on top of a 10 per cent duty already imposed on Chinese auto imports, reported NHK World.

The move came after the EU concluded that Chinese automakers received large government subsidies that unfairly undermined their European rivals.

The move further escalates global tension over protectionist policies related to EVs. The US and the EU have accused China of unfairly subsidising its EV market.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated that the complaint aims to protect the development rights and interests of the electric vehicle industry and global green transformation cooperation.

China filed an appeal with the World Trade Organization Friday, saying the EU tariffs violate WTO rules and hurt the global fight against climate change, state media reported.

The EU recently announced plans to impose a 37.6 pc levy on Chinese EVs, which are flooding into the market and posing a competitive threat to European automakers.

The Ministry further commented that the EU's preliminary ruling lacks a factual and legal basis, seriously violates WTO rules, and undermines global cooperation on climate change, as per China Daily.

To safeguard the development rights and interests of the EV industry and global green transformation cooperation, China appealed to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism over the EU's provisional countervailing measures on EVs, the Ministry of Commerce said.

China has urged the EU to immediately correct its actions and collaborate to protect the stability of China-EU economic and trade cooperation as well as the electric vehicle industry and supply chains.

In early July, the European Commission imposed provisional additional tariffs on Chinese battery electric vehicle (BEV) makers of up to 37.6 per cent, citing an investigation concluding that subsidies benefit the Chinese BEV value chain, posing an economic risk to EU producers.

This report is auto-generated from a syndicated feed