China is concerned about the ”discrimination” displayed by the European Commission, writes Reuters.

This comes after the EU Commission’s executive vice-president, Margrethe Vestager, stated on Tuesday that the EU will open a new investigation into Chinese state aid for wind turbines. Like an investigation of the automotive industry, it will reveal whether China is providing illegal state aid.

”There is increasing protectionism in the EU,” Mao Ning, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Wednesday according to Reuters.

The EU suspects Chinese wind turbine production of having received anti-competitive state aid.

The EU Commission is focusing in particular on Chinese suppliers for wind farms in five EU countries: Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria, the media outlet Politico wrote on Tuesday.

The concern is that without support, European wind turbine manufacturers could be wiped out in the same way that Chinese competition largely wiped out Europe’s solar sector.

The EU investigation will reportedly make use of a new tool called the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which gives authority to take action against foreign subsidies that distort competition in the EU’s single market.