China urges U.S. to abide by market principles, int’l trade rules: spokesperson

BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) — China urges the United States to earnestly abide by market principles and international trade rules, and create a sound environment for fair competition among enterprises from all countries, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a daily news briefing when answering a query on report that U.S. President Joe Biden said China provides subsidies to flood the U.S. market with electric vehicles.

Mao said that China’s new energy products, including electric vehicles, are gaining popularity in the international market, relying on continuous technological innovation, sound industrial and supply chains, and sufficient market competition.

Their popularity is the result of the combined effect of comparative advantages and the laws of the market, and an outcome of the efforts of enterprises, instead of an outcome of so-called “subsidies,” she added.

Last year, China exported only 13,000 electric vehicles to the United States, Mao said, rebuking the claim of flooding the U.S. market.

Mao pointed out that industrial subsidy policies originate from the United States and Europe, and are widely adopted by countries around the world.

China’s industrial subsidy policies strictly adhere to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), consistently upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and non-discrimination. They do not involve any prohibited subsidies as defined by the WTO, she said.

Calling the United States a big subsidizer of its industries, Mao said in recent years, the United States signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act to directly intervene in the allocation of market resources through direct and indirect subsidies totaling hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars.

Subsidies do not guarantee industrial competitiveness, and protectionism protects backwardness and sacrifices the future, Mao said.

Mao said the United States has adopted discriminatory measures against Chinese electric vehicles, which violates the WTO rules and disrupts the stability of the global industrial and supply chains, and will ultimately harm the interests of the United States, said Mao.

China urges the United States to earnestly abide by market principles and international trade rules, and create a sound environment for fair competition among enterprises from all countries, Mao said, adding that China will resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.