BEIJING, April 10 (Reuters) - China said it was

concerned by what it called discriminatory measures by the

European Union against its firms after the bloc said it would

investigate subsidies received by Chinese suppliers of wind

turbines destined for its countries.

"The outside world is worried about the rising tendency of

protectionism in the EU," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning

said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

"China is highly concerned about the discriminatory measures

taken by the European Union against Chinese companies and even

industries," Mao said, adding that the bloc should abide by

World Trade Organization rules and market principles.

The investigation, announced on Tuesday, represents the

latest move in a push by Europe and the United States to protect

their firms from what they view as unfair competition from

state-subsidised clean technology imports from China.

In a visit to China this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet

Yellen said Washington would not accept its industry being

"decimated" by China's overcapacity in key products such as

electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels.

The European Commission will look into conditions for the

development of wind parks in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and

Bulgaria, the EU's anti-trust commissioner Margrethe Vestager

has said.

While local players like Siemens Energy and Vestas still

supply most of wind turbines on Europe's wind farms, they face

intense competition from lower cost Chinese products,

threatening their position in a global race to develop more

efficient, and cheaper, turbines.

China has by far the world's largest wind turbine production

capacity, accounting for 60% of the 163 gigawatts (GW) globally

in 2023, according to Brussels-based industry association Global

Wind Energy Council.

Wind energy projects received subsidies from the central

government between 2009 and 2021, and still receive local

government support and state bank financing.

Prices for Chinese turbines are around 20% below rival U.S.

and European products, says research service BloombergNEF.

The EU imported some $1.42 billion in turbines and

components from China last year, customs data showed.

While subsidies could stimulate innovation, they also have

the potential to distort markets, Jens Eskelund, president of

the European Chamber of Commerce in China, told Reuters.

"Free and open markets rely on rules-based trade practices.

The European Chamber expects to see a fact based probe with a

view to ensure such principles for all market participants,"

Eskelund said.