China launches investigation in response to EU probes of solar, wind power and other products

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Commerce Ministry has announced it will launch an investigation into whether unfair trade practices were adopted by the European Union in its probe of Chinese companies. It said Wednesday the investigation will focus on wind power, photovoltaics, security equipment and others and will be completed before next Jan. 10. The announcement is an apparent retaliation over recent investigations by the EU against Chinese companies, launched earlier this year. These include a probe over whether Chinese subsidies are giving wind turbine companies an unfair advantage in the competition for projects, as well as probes into Chinese solar panel makers.