China to help NEV industry respond to foreign trade restrictions

By Sarah Wu and Albee Zhang

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry said on Wednesday it would encourage the new energy vehicle industry to "actively" respond to foreign trade restrictions and cooperate with overseas firms, amid a European probe into Chinese subsidies for the sector.

The ministry issued guidelines that also encouraged automakers to set up R&D and after-sales service centres abroad, to collaborate with foreign partners in building up supply chains, and to work more closely with shipping companies on transportation logistics.

Under the measures, Chinese banks would be encouraged to expand domestic and overseas services for automakers and their supply chains, including the scale of cross-border RMB settlements.

The ministry also said it would optimise export procedures for NEVs and batteries.

China is estimated to have overtaken Japan as the world's largest auto exporter in 2023, and its growing clout as a vehicle exporter is causing frictions abroad.

In September, the European Commission launched a probe into Chinese-made electric vehicles over subsidies they may have received, a move branded by Beijing as "protectionist".

The United States is discussing raising tariffs on some Chinese goods including EVs, the Wall Street Journal reported last month.

(Reporting by Sarah Wu, Albee Zhang and Bernard Orr; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen Coates)