(Bloomberg) -- Europe needs China as a “strategic partner” in helping build the bloc’s electric vehicle industry, a top Spanish official said, echoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s position against EU plans to slap tariffs on Chinese cars.
“China is a fundamental partner to develop” the electric mobility industry in Europe, Spanish Industry Minister Jordi Hereu said in a Chinese-Spanish business event in Madrid Thursday, adding that it would be “absurd” not to build up the relationship. “We will always avoid extreme protectionism,” he said.
Hereu’s comments come shortly after Sanchez said that the European Union needs to rethink its plan to impose additional tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, in a surprise statement that underscored simmering divisions among EU nations over the trade measure. Sanchez’s comments were made earlier this month during a visit to China, where he was seeking to attract investment to Spain.
Spain is Europe’s second-largest car manufacturer and, like other nations across the EU, it’s seeking to build an EV industry. One Chinese company, Chery Automobile Co., has already announced a partnership to set up a factory with a Spanish partner, Ebro-EV Motors.
The EU was planning to vote Sept. 25 on whether to impose the tariffs, though that date could slip slightly. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is meeting with EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels Thursday to discuss the European EV anti-subsidy plans.
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