China using green energy to distort global energy prices: Yellen
Robert Besser
31 Mar 2024, 12:28 GMT+10
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said China is unfairly ramping up its solar energy, electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery production
- She said this “distorts global prices” and “hurts American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world”
- Yellen said in Georgia that she would convey her opinion that Beijing’s increased production of green energy also poses risks “to productivity and growth in the Chinese economy” to her Chinese counterparts
WASHINGTON D.C.: This week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said China is unfairly ramping up its solar energy, electric vehicle (EV) and lithium-ion battery production, a move that “distorts global prices” and “hurts American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world.”
In preparation for her second trip to China as U.S Treasury secretary, Yellen said in Georgia that she would convey her opinion that Beijing’s increased production of green energy also poses risks “to productivity and growth in the Chinese economy” to her Chinese counterparts.
“I will press my Chinese counterparts to take necessary steps to address this issue,” she said.
In 2023, the International Energy Agency, a Paris-based intergovernmental group, noted that China accounted for around 60 percent of global EV sales.
On March 26, China filed a World Trade Organization complaint against the U.S. over what it claimed were discriminatory requirements for EV subsidies.
In response to the complaint, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that China “continues to use unfair, non-market policies and practices to undermine fair competition, while the U.S. subsidies are a “contribution to a clean energy future.”
In 2023, the European Union also launched its own investigation into Chinese EV subsidies, due to concerns about the potential threat to Europe’s auto industry.
“In the past, in industries like steel and aluminum, Chinese government support led to substantial overinvestment and excess capacity that Chinese firms looked to export abroad at depressed prices,” Yellen said.
“These are concerns that I increasingly hear from government counterparts in industrialized countries and emerging markets, as well as from the business community globally,” she added.
Also the next day, Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with American business leaders in Beijing. During the meeting, he called for closer trade ties with the U.S. amid a steady improvement in their strained relations.
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