Beijing said Friday it had filed an appeal with the World Trade Organization over the European Union's imposition of additional tariffs on imports of electric vehicles from China.

In July, the EU slapped extra provisional duties of up to 38 percent on Chinese EVs after its executive arm concluded in an investigation that they were unfairly undermining European rivals.

"On August 9, China appealed to the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement mechanism over the EU's temporary anti-subsidy measures on EVs," a spokesperson for the country's commerce ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the appeal aimed to "safeguard the development rights and interests of the electric vehicle industry and cooperation over the global green transformation".

"The EU's preliminary ruling lacks a factual and legal basis, seriously violates WTO rules, and undermines the overall situation of global cooperation in addressing climate change," it said.

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