WASHINGTON (AP) – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen criticized China’s expansion of production of solar energy, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries, saying that unfair competition “distorts global prices” and that “not just companies, but U.S. It also harms workers.” and workers around the world. ”
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Yellen, who is planning her second trip to China as Treasury secretary, spoke Wednesday in Georgia about her belief that Beijing’s increase in green energy production also poses a risk to “the productivity and growth of the Chinese economy.” He said he was planning to inform the authorities.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies during a Senate Finance hearing to review President Joe Biden’s proposed fiscal year 2025 budget request on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
“I will urge the Chinese side to take the necessary steps to address this issue.”
China is a major player in electric vehicle batteries, with a rapidly expanding auto industry that could challenge the world’s established automakers as it globalizes. The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based intergovernmental organization, points out that China will account for about 60% of global electric vehicle sales in 2023.
Yellen spoke Wednesday afternoon at Suniva, a solar cell manufacturing facility in Norcross, Georgia. According to the Ministry of Finance, the factory was shut down in 2017 primarily due to the flood of cheap imports that flooded the market. Part of the reason for the reopening is due to incentives from Democrats’ Inflation Control Act, which provides tax incentives for green energy production.
The company’s history serves as a warning against the effects of market oversaturation with Chinese products, and is indicative of the current state of U.S.-China economic relations, strained by investment bans, espionage concerns and other issues. .
China on Tuesday filed a complaint against the United States with the World Trade Organization, accusing it of discriminatory requirements for electric vehicle subsidies. China’s Ministry of Commerce has not disclosed what prompted the move.
In response to the complaint, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that while U.S. subsidies are a “contribution to a clean energy future,” China is pursuing “unfair and non-market policies to undermine fair competition.” “We continue to use these methods and practices,” he said.
The European Union also launched its own investigation into China’s electric vehicle subsidies last year, concerned about the potential threat to its auto industry.
“In industries like steel and aluminum, Chinese government support has led to significant overinvestment and overcapacity, which Chinese companies have sought to export overseas at lower prices,” Yellen said. “This has sustained production and employment in China, but forced industry in other parts of the world to contract.”
“These concerns are increasingly being heard from government officials in developed and emerging markets, and the business community around the world,” she said.
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The tone of Yellen’s speech came as she spoke with American business leaders in Beijing on Wednesday and called for closer trade ties with the United States, as relations steadily improve after sinking to their lowest level in years. This is in contrast to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that despite high U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports and U.S. accusations of the Communist Party’s undue influence, unfair trade barriers and intellectual property theft, the world’s two largest economies He emphasized mutually beneficial economic relations.
