"Taking another road" - Car taxes in China to avoid WTO rules

The Economist has an article about car taxes in China that demonstrates quite well how government intervention affects the market. It talks about several attempts that China uses to reduce cars imports and protect its car industry. After WTO ruled that China’s imposition of a special 25% tariff on imported car parts (if the parts made up more than half of the value of a vehicle) is against WTO rules, China comes up with a new tool: tax against gas-guzzling cars, which “by an amazing coincidence,” are foreign-made cars. This government intervention surely reduces competition in the market, but at the same time it helps its local industry. Needless to say, in that stand point, it’s hard to say if China’s tax is wrong.