Janet Yellen says G7 to discuss Chinese overproduction that ‘significantly exceeds global demand’ at FM meeting in Italy
- Yellen’s comments come a week after the Biden administration announced steep new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle and other strategic industries
- The US is concerned Chinese government support is leading to more production capacity than markets can absorb, driving cheap exports and stifling global growth
United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that concerns about Chinese overproduction of key green technologies would be a key topic at a forthcoming meeting of G7 finance ministers.
Chinese production in areas such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels “significantly exceeds global demand”, Yellen said in a speech in Frankfurt.
The excess capacity “poses a threat to the development of clean energy industries around the world”, Yellen said.
The subject “will be a focus at the G7 meetings in Italy later this week”, she added.
In remarks on the importance of the US-European alliance in Frankfurt, Yellen said China’s excess industrial capacity threatened both American and European firms as well as the industrial development of emerging market countries.
“China’s industrial policy may seem remote as we sit here in this room, but if we do not respond strategically and in a united way, the viability of businesses in both our countries and around the world could be at risk,” she said.
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialised nations are due to meet in Stresa, Italy, starting on Thursday.
