Beijing, China — China said Thursday that an investigation had found the European Union imposed unfair “trade and investment barriers” on Beijing, marking the latest salvo in long-running commercial tensions between the two economic powers.

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 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.

China’s consumer inflation weakened further toward zero, decelerating for a fourth straight month in a setback for government efforts to stamp out deflation and revive demand by injecting stimulus into the economy.

China's consumer inflation slowed in December, while producer price deflation persisted, as Beijing ramped up policy support to bolster a faltering economy. The consumer price index crept up 0.1% last month year-on-year,