The directive comes as, starting Wednesday, Chinese electric vehicles heading to Europe will be subject to tariffs as high as 45.3%

The agency expects carmakers to continue working towards making cheaper and innovative EVs — with China firmly in the lead. It also predicts a hit to Europe’s GDP from the EV transition

The EU is attempting to hold talks with some EV-makers outside of official channels, shaking “the foundation and mutual trust of the negotiations,” Beijing says

The European Commission looks to have gathered enough support for its planned tariffs to go through, despite pushback from major automakers and key bloc members

Technical talks with China had intensified to an almost daily basis and could extend beyond the end of October, a top European Commission official said

China and EU have both vowed to intensify efforts to avert the tariffs, amid concerns that could trigger a 'trade war' between the economic powerhouses

The planned tariffs, if approved by the EU's 27 members, will potentially raise prices for consumers at a time when the region's EV sales have plunged 44%

Washington and Brussels are set to disregard repeated ‘warnings’ and appeals from Beijing to reverse course on their planned steep tariff hikes on China-made electric vehicles

Worsening geopolitical ties between Beijing and the West, along with the spiralling economic conditions in China have been the biggest drivers of the drop in business sentiment

Beijing spy chiefs have cautioned students that they could be targeted by attractive operatives working for foreign entities

European manufacturers of electrolysers have warned they cannot compete with cheaper Chinese producers

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said China was 'not playing by the same rules' as the rest of the world. He is also considering similar levies on imports of chips and solar cells