China vowed to defend 'its companies' rights and interests after the European Union opened a?investigation?" into Chinese wind power company Goldwind Science & Technology.

Goldwind could have received foreign subsidies that gave it unfair advantages in Europe, according to EU state aid regulators who said this on Tuesday.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said: "We urge the EU to correct its wrongful actions and use caution when using the Foreign Subsidies Regulation as a?unilateral investigation tool. This will create an environment that is fair, just, and predictable for China-EU collaboration."

On Wednesday, the Chinese foreign ministry stated that "discriminatory measures and restrictive actions" taken by the EU against Chinese companies sent "a protective signal".

Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, told reporters that "the EU's frequent use of unilateral economic and trade tools" damages its reputation and undermines Chinese business' confidence when asked about the investigation.

China is the leading producer of wind power in the world. In 2024, the European Union began an investigation into subsidies received by Chinese suppliers of wind turbines that were destined for Europe. The aim was to protect domestic companies from cheap Chinese imports.

Beijing has described the investigation by the United States as a form of protectionism. Reporting by Xiuhao chen and Ryan Woo, Writing by Yukun zhang and Shi Bu, Editing by Christopher Cushing & David Goodman

(source: Reuters)