China has moved forward with a complaint at the World Trade Organization that alleges the European Union has improperly set anti-subsidy tariffs on new Chinese-made electric vehicles.The Chinese diplomatic mission to the WTO said Monday it “strongly opposes” the measures and insisted its move was designed to protect the EV industry and support a global transition toward greener technologies.

Fears of a widening tariff war between China and other major exporting nations are keeping diplomacy between the world's second-largest economy and the European Union alive, even as trade talks over electric vehicles stall.