Western media claims about China's excess capacity and heavy dependence on exports are false narratives – Chinese Ambassador to Russia

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

Moscow, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — Some Western politicians and media outlets have recently made frequent references to China's "overcapacity," its "state subsidies to industries," and its "export dependence." These statements are typical false narratives and demonstrate double standards, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in an article published in the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper on Tuesday.

“Statements like ‘large export volumes mean overproduction’, ‘the competitiveness of Chinese goods in the global market is based on government subsidies’ or ‘China’s economic growth depends on exports’ are seriously misleading,” the ambassador notes.

According to him, China's capacity utilization rate is at a reasonable level, and global demand for high-quality Chinese products remains robust. From 2017 to 2023, China's manufacturing capacity utilization rate was 76.5 percent, comparable to the U.S.'s 77.2 percent.

The article notes that China, as one of the most competitive markets in the world, has formed globally competitive production and supply chains. China's industrial subsidy policy strictly complies with the rules of the World Trade Organization, focuses mainly on R&D and consumption promotion, so it is impossible to simply interpret Chinese subsidies as unfair competition and at the same time present Western subsidies as “industrial investment” or “drivers of green transformation,” the article notes.

The long-term stability and positive dynamics of the Chinese economy are ensured by a powerful domestic market: China has a market with a population of over 1.4 billion people and a middle class of over 400 million people, while the GDP per capita reaches 13 thousand US dollars. “China is experiencing the best period in terms of consumer demand growth,” Zhang Hanhui believes.

The article cites World Bank statistics, according to which in 2023, China's export share in GDP was only 19 percent, while in the Republic of Korea it was 44 percent, in Germany 43 percent, in France 34 percent, and in Japan 22 percent. This refutes the thesis about “China's dependence on exports” as frankly biased and subjective.

“Despite tariff wars, China’s development has not only not stopped, but has also achieved breakthroughs in areas such as microchips, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies,” the ambassador writes. At the same time, China has held the world lead in the production and sales of electric vehicles for 9 years in a row, and the share of solar module production exceeds 80 percent of the global total.

“The country has transformed itself from the ‘world’s factory’ into a ‘technology exporter’ and is leading an efficiency revolution, and any attempts to curb China’s progress through tariff wars and a scientific and technological blockade are ‘doomed to fail’,” the article emphasizes. –0–

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