In the USA, Janet Yellen worries about the potential effects of “excess capacity” in Chinese factories

"The Chinese government has largely supported in the past, and for certain industries like steel and aluminum, substantial overinvestment and excess capacity that Chinese companies sought to export at low prices. We are now seeing this excess capacity appearing in 'new' industries," Yellen said.

The Treasury Secretary cited solar panels, electric vehicles and even lithium-ion batteries, which are precisely necessary for electric vehicles in particular.

“We have talked about overcapacity in our previous discussions with China and I plan to make it a central topic of discussions planned during my next trip” to the country, she added.

In a statement, the Federation of American Manufacturing (AAM) called on the government to prevent too large a flow of Chinese imports.

“We must also ensure that Chinese companies do not go through our trading partners to reach the American market or distort it by setting up minimal operations integrated into Chinese supply chains, at the risk of destabilizing our emerging industries”, insisted AAM President Scott Paul.

In her speech, the Treasury Secretary insisted on the benefits brought about by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), President Joe Biden's major climate plan, passed in 2022 and which notably provides support for the development of local industries for renewable energies or electric vehicles.

Janet Yellen is scheduled to visit China later this year, but the date of her trip is not yet officially known.

“Chinese overproduction distorts global prices and production circuits, this hits American companies and employees as well as those around the world. This can lead to a concentration of supply chains which will reduce the resilience of the economy world," insisted Ms. Yellen.

She therefore plans to remind her Chinese counterparts that, beyond the impact on the global economy, "overproduction is a risk for the competitiveness and growth of the Chinese economy itself and to urge them to take necessary measures" to remedy this.

However, the subject had already been discussed during the G20 Finance meeting in Brazil, which brought together finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 countries at the end of February, as well as during a meeting of the economic working group set up between the two countries at the beginning of the same month.