Beijing has called out the European Union for imposing unfair trade barriers on Chinese companies, ending a monthslong investigation into the bloc’s efforts to protect its businesses from foreign subsidies.

China has concluded that the European Union's practices in investigating Chinese companies under the bloc's Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) and related rules amount to trade and investment barriers, said the Ministry of Commerce in an online statement on Thursday.

China said the European Union’s measures to shield its companies from foreign subsidies are a barrier to trade and investment, marking the latest clash in the ongoing trade dispute between the two sides.

China said an investigation had found the European Union imposed unfair "trade and investment barriers." China on Thursday said that the investigations conducted by the European Union into Chinese firms constituted "unfair trade and investment barriers.