The European Union risks entering an “economic cold war” with China, Hungary's prime minister said on Friday, pledging to vote against an EU plan to impose higher tariffs on the import of Chinese electric vehicles.

BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned on Friday that the European Union was headed for an "economic cold war" with China as the bloc's leaders prepared for a pivotal vote on imposing tariffs on imports of Chinese-made electric cars (EVs).

Hungary will veto an EU proposal that seeks to impose tariffs of up to 45% on imports of electric vehicles (EVs) made in China as the plan is "harmful and dangerous", Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on his Facebook page on Thursday.