Beijing says it firmly opposes the European Commission’s decision to cut EU funding for clean energy projects that use Chinese inverters, denouncing the move as “unfair and discriminatory” and vowing to take action to defend the interests of its firms.
“Without any substantive evidence, the European side has for the first time designated China as a so-called ‘high-risk country’ … this constitutes a smearing of China,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Thursday.
It warned that Brussels’ actions would “destabilise industrial and supply chains” between the two economies and beyond, undermining trust and damaging bilateral trade.
Excluding Chinese inverters would not only hurt Chinese companies, the ministry added, but would also backfire on the European Union itself by jeopardising its green transition and energy security.
The European Commission announced the funding ban on Monday, confirming an exclusive report by the South China Morning Post last month. The decision applies to all EU financial institutions and partner banks involved in the renewable energy sector, including solar, wind and storage batteries, and all EU-funded projects both inside and outside the bloc.
Chinese brands Huawei Technologies and Sungrow ranked as the world’s top two solar inverter manufacturers in the first half of 2025, ahead of Germany’s SMA and Austria’s Fronius, according to a Wood Mackenzie report published in January.
In its statement, the commerce ministry urged Brussels to “immediately cease its smearing conduct of designating China as a ‘high-risk country’ and to rescind its unfair and discriminatory practices against Chinese products”.