Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Wednesday that China is treating the global economy as a dumping ground for its cheap clean energy products, which is driving down market prices and reducing green production in the US, reports NBC News.
“I’m concerned about the global effects of the overcapacity we’re seeing in China,” Yellen said during a speech at a Georgia solar company called Suniva.
“Overcapacity in China distorts prices and production patterns worldwide and affects American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world,” she added.
Yellen said she plans to press Chinese officials about these trade practices during her upcoming visit to China.
“I intend to make this a key topic of discussion during my next trip there,” she said. “I will put pressure on my Chinese counterparts to take the necessary steps to address this issue,” she added.
The state secretary’s concerns come in the context in which the White House is trying to build a clean energy industry domestically.
Yellen added that the more China’s clean energy surplus interferes with global market prices, the worse supply chains for these energy sectors will be affected.
“President Biden is committed to doing everything we can to protect our industries from unfair competition,” Yellen said.
Yellen’s comments highlight the ongoing commercial tension between the US and China, even if the two countries are trying to stabilize relations.
President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November in an attempt to break the ice after years of tensions, marked in part by a tariff war launched by former President Donald Trump.
Trump floated the idea of reintroducing significant levels of tariffs on Chinese products if he wins a second presidential term.
In the time since the Biden-Xi meeting, strengthening relations between the US and China has proven to be a precarious endeavor due to ongoing concerns about cyber security and trade.
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