China and the European Union have agreed to co-operate to avert planned punitive tariffs on electric cars, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Saturday. Following a video meeting between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, the ministry said consultations will be held on the EU’s investigation into Chinese state subsidies for electric vehicles. The European Commission recently published plans for tariffs of up to 38.1% on the import of Chinese electric vehicles. The import duties are due to come into force from early July, but could be retroacti…