Prominent Chinese automaker, Great Wall Motors revealed that the company has formally submitted a response to the European anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese made electric vehicles and called for a fair and open trade environment.
Great Wall provided its statement to the European Commission on Oct. 11, and is the first automaker to have done so.
"We need a fair and open trade environment," the automaker's president, Mu Feng, said on his Weibo social media account on Monday. "We have the confidence to win the competition globally."
Tensions between the EU and China have increased over the years, in part due to Beijing's strengthened connections with Moscow following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"Europe is one of the key strategic markets for Great Wall Motor," Mu said, adding that the company has big plans for the region,
The automaker has already begun site selection efforts for a plant in the region, envisioning full capabilities from production to sales.
Brussels initiated its investigation this month to determine the possibility of imposing tariff barriers, responding to what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen referred to as a surge of low-cost Chinese electric vehicle imports, which are supported by state subsidies.
The investigation is examining EVs made both by Chinese manufacturers and foreign firms, such as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), BMW (ETR:BMWG) and Renault (EPA:RENA), in China.