Advertisement
US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

US raised industry oversupply concerns in talks with China, Janet Yellen says

  • Treasury secretary tells reporters she discussed the issue with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in San Francisco
  • Two sides also endorsed notion that they should have a level playing field and fair trade relations, according to Yellen

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
30
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says Apec members discussed the slowing Chinese economy. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Igor Patrickin San Francisco
Washington has expressed concern to Beijing about the risks of oversupply in key industries in the Chinese economy, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on the sidelines of the Apec summit in San Francisco.
Advertisement
Yellen said she had discussed the issue with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng during their meeting in San Francisco last week and both sides had also endorsed the notion that they should have a level playing field and fair trade relations.

“We did talk about issues of oversupply that could arise in the future in industries that China is investing in very heavily. And I do consider that a risk,” she told reporters.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen meets Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in San Francisco on Friday. Photo: Bloomberg
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen meets Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in San Francisco on Friday. Photo: Bloomberg

Yellen also said that some Chinese investment and financial resources in industries such as green energy could lead to overcapacity.

On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that “a green-energy spending spree” in China, to fuel the country’s renewable energy development, was leading to an oversupply of solar components such as polysilicon, whose price on the international market has already fallen by more than 50 per cent since the beginning of the year.

The report noted that China invested around US$80 billion in clean energy production in 2022 and that the abundance of available financing ended up attracting players without expertise in the field, such as a toy manufacturer, a pharmaceutical company and a dairy farmer.

Advertisement

The high volume of Chinese capital available to those looking to enter the sector not only points to the potential risk of a bubble about to burst but is also raising concerns among competitors in Europe, another major market for green technologies.

loading
Advertisement