HONG KONG (Sept 19): China’s commerce minister said on Wednesday that Beijing will continue to negotiate "until the last minute" on the European Union’s (EU) electric vehicle (EV) probe, with the investigation undermining confidence of Chinese companies investing in Europe.

Wang Wentao was speaking in Brussels at a China-Europe EVs event, where around 30 top executives of Chinese and European EV industries met to discuss views on the EU’s anti-subsidy case against China’s EVs.

Wang is due to meet the European Commission’s trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday, to discuss rising trade tension.

The European Commission is on the verge of proposing final tariffs of up to 35.3% on EVs built in China, on top of the EU’s standard 10% car import duty.

The EU’s 27 members are due to vote on the proposed final duties on Sept 25. They will be implemented by the end of October, unless a qualified majority of 15 EU members, representing 65% of the EU population, votes against the levies.

Uploaded by Liza Shireen Koshy