US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that during her visit to China, she plans to discuss the issue of overcapacity in some industries with Chinese officials, warning that China should not export large amounts of cheap clean energy to the world, which will distort the global market and harm the interests of workers.
Some analysts pointed out that Janet Yellen's warning reflects that the Biden administration of the US president continues to be concerned about China's trade practices. Despite the recent efforts of the two countries to stabilize relations, China's trade practices may become the source of friction during Janet Yellen's visit to China.
It is reported that Janet Yellen will visit China in April. In a speech at a solar cell manufacturing plant in Georgia on Wednesday, she said that China's increase in the production of solar energy, electric vehicles, and lithium-ion batteries has created unfair competition, distorted global prices, and harmed the interests of American companies and workers. She plans to express to Chinese officials during her next visit to China that China's increase in the production of green energy will also pose risks to its own economic growth and productivity, and urges the Chinese side to take necessary measures to solve the problem.
Janet Yellen said that in the past, China supported industries such as steel and aluminum, and there was a large amount of excessive investment and overcapacity. Chinese companies sought to export at low prices, which although it helped China's own production and employment, caused the contraction of industries in other parts of the world.
At Beijing, the Ministry of Commerce earlier criticized the US side for accusing China's economic and trade policies with unfounded arbitrary standards, falsely claiming that China's legitimate trade measures are "economic coercion", distorting right and wrong, and falsely claiming that China has caused "excess capacity". The measures taken by China in response to the US's blockage and suppression are labeled as "active decoupling", reflecting the US's unilateralism and bullying practices. China firmly opposes this.
