China Opens Tit-for-Tat Investigation Into EU Trade Barriers

(Bloomberg) — China is investigating whether the European Union’s spate of actions against the world’s No. 2 economy constitute an illegal barrier to free trade, as the two blocs edge another step closer to a trade war.

The Ministry of Commerce said the Chinese probe would span a range of sectors, including rail, solar and wind power, and security equipment in a Wednesday statement. Those are areas the EU has targeted in recent months with an array of new tools, which it says are designed to defend itself against Beijing’s unfair practices.