China urges US to stop going after China's new energy sector: spokesperson

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- China urges the United States to stop spreading the false "overcapacity" narrative and stop going after China's new energy sector with unfair and non-market means, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday.

Lin made the remarks when answering a relevant question at a press conference.

Lin said that the "China overcapacity" accusation may look like an economic discussion, but the truth is, the accusation is built on false logic.

All countries produce and export products of their comparative advantage and this is the nature of international trade. "If a country should be accused of overcapacity and asked to cut capacity whenever it produces more than its domestic demand, then what would countries trade with?" Lin added.

"If exporting 12 percent of Chinese-made EVs is called overcapacity, then what about Germany, Japan and the U.S. who export 80, 50 and 25 percent respectively of their automobiles? Wouldn't that be considered more serious overcapacity?" Lin said.

According to the statistics of the International Energy Agency, to realize carbon neutrality, the world will need 45 million NEVs by 2030, 4.5 times that of the demand of 2022. "When the global capacity is still far below the market demand, how could there be 'overcapacity' ?" Lin added.

Lin said that the U.S. knows full well that this "overcapacity" allegation is against economic common sense and industry facts, yet still labels China with it. The U.S. claim of "China overcapacity" is not a market-driven conclusion, but a crafted narrative to manipulate perception and politicize trade.

The real purpose is to hold back China's high-quality development and deprive China of its legitimate right to development. There isn't a "China overcapacity," but a U.S. overcapacity of anxiety stemming from lack of confidence and smears against China, Lin added.

The U.S. said it does not seek to contain China's economy or bar China's progress in science and technology. "We urge the U.S. to honor those words, and stop spreading the false 'overcapacity' narrative, stop going after China's new energy sector with unfair and non-market means and stop impeding the global effort to achieve green transition and development," said the spokesperson.