At a press conference, Zhang Shaogang, vice president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), stressed that such actions negatively affect cooperation in global supply chains. “We urge the United States and the European Union to respect the rules of the market economy and the principles of fair competition, to immediately stop these erroneous practices and to solve disputes through dialogue to achieve mutual benefit and promote global economic development,” he emphasized.

On behalf of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Zhang also stressed that the position of the Chinese business community reflects the global consensus on this issue.

During the recent third meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2024 Business Advisory Council, representatives from Beijing and Washington proposed a joint initiative calling for keeping supply chains open, in line with WTO rules.

At this year’s International Supply Chain Fair, 32 percent of exhibitors were foreign companies, with the United States in first place, followed by European and Japanese companies. According to Zhang, this shows that China remains one of the main partners in global supply chains.

Some Western nations led by the United States and the EU imposed additional tariffs on imports of electric vehicles from China, claiming that Chinese industrial subsidies led to excess production capacity of cheap electric cars, which flooded the market, created unfair competition and posed a threat to the domestic auto industry. This generated great rejection from China.

Beijing responded that its electric vehicle sector has developed rapidly thanks to continuous technological innovation, an improved supply chain system and full market competition.

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