French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire called on the G7 on Friday to “present a united front to protect its industrial interests” in the face of China’s production overcapacity, calling however to avoid “a trade war”.
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“We must absolutely avoid any form of trade war, because the trade war is not in the interest of the United States, nor of China, nor of Europe, nor of any country in the world,” he said. he declared on the sidelines of the meeting of G7 finance ministers in Stresa in northern Italy.
“China is our economic partner, but China has industrial overcapacity. And the G7 must present a united front to protect its industrial interests,” he stressed.
“All instruments at our disposal must be used, whether at the G7 level or at the European level, to protect our industrial interests and protect us from unfair commercial practices.”
Western countries are worried about the risk that the massive subsidies injected by the Chinese government into technologies, green energy, electric vehicles and even batteries, will lead to a tidal wave of low-cost products around the world which would put jeopardizes foreign competitors in these sectors.
Washington announced in mid-May a marked increase in customs duties applied to the equivalent of 18 billion dollars of Chinese products, in particular electric vehicles and batteries for these vehicles, as well as on critical metals, of which China waters the planet.
American Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, also present in Stresa, recognized Thursday that “this is not a bilateral issue between the United States and China.”
“German Chancellor (Olaf) Scholz raised the issue during his trip to China in April, and (French) President Emmanuel Macron and (European Commission) President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the need for balanced trade relations. with China this month,” she recalled, calling for “a clear and united front” against Beijing.
For the moment, the European Commission, which is participating in the G7 summits alongside France, Germany and Italy, has simply opened a series of investigations into Chinese subsidies for green technologies. .
