PUSHBACK
China’s vice finance minister, Liao Min, told Chinese media that Beijing “has fully responded” to US questions on overcapacity and expressed “grave concern” over restrictions Washington imposes on trade and investment.
Liao said China’s “current competitive advantages are rooted in China’s large-scale market, complete industrial system and abundant human resources”, decrying the “escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies.”
“China will not sit idly and ignore it,” Liao said in remarks published on the ministry’s website.
China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, said in March the government would take steps to curb industrial overcapacity.
But Beijing says the recent focus by the US and Europe on the risks from China’s excess capacity is misguided.
Chinese officials say the criticism understates innovation by companies in China and overstates the importance of state support in driving their growth. They also say tariffs or other trade curbs will deprive global consumers of green energy alternatives key to meeting global climate goals.
WTO RULES
Trade curbs on Chinese EVs would contravene World Trade Organisation rules, the industry and information technology ministry said in a statement carried by state media CCTV and China Daily.
The Chinese ministry added that it was committed to supporting EV exports and would help “accelerate the overseas development” of the industry including planning for shipping and logistics and support for firms to innovate and meet global standards.
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao voiced more pointed objections during a roundtable meeting with Chinese EV makers in Paris, saying US and European assertions of Chinese excess EV capacity were groundless.
Rather than subsidies, China’s EV companies rely on continuous technological innovation, perfect production and supply chain systems and full market competition, Wang said on his trip to discuss a European Union anti-subsidy inquiry.
Yellen suggested a possible short-term solution was for China to take steps to bolster consumer demand with support for households and shift its growth model away from supply-side investments.
Yellen spoke about the issue at length with Premier Li Qiang and also met Finance Minister Lan Foan on Sunday. She met People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Pan Gongsheng and former Vice Premier Liu He on Monday.
In a CNBC interview after the meetings, Yellen said she was “not thinking so much” about trade curbs on China, as much as shifts in its macroeconomic environment. But she reiterated she would not rule out tariffs.
Source: CNA
