EU must not be 'naive' in China EV talks, Spain economy minister says

TOKYO -- Spain's economy minister said the European Union must stand its ground in negotiations with Beijing over electric vehicle imports following the bloc's implementation of hefty provisional duties against Chinese EVs.

"The EU thrives in rule-based international trade," Carlos Cuerpo, Spain's minister of economy, trade and enterprise, told Nikkei Asia in an interview in Tokyo on Thursday. "But we should not be naive, and we have to be attentive to the fact that, under some conditions, our firms will not be playing on a level playing field."