Recent suppressive measures imposed by the US targeting Chinese enterprises and industry players across multiple sectors underscore its inability to compete with China under conventional trade rules, Chinese experts stated on Friday.
According to He Weiwen, a senior fellow from the Center for China and Globalization, the US’ actions, including the blacklisting of Chinese semiconductor firms associated with Huawei and intensified claims against China-made cranes and new-energy vehicles, demonstrate a resort to trade restrictions by abusing the concept of national security. This approach, he emphasized, will impede the US’ own industrial development.
Echoing similar sentiments, Hu Qimu, deputy secretary-general of the Digital-Real Economies Integration Forum 50, highlighted that the US is misconstruing opportunities in China as risks under the guise of security concerns. He emphasized that US cooperation with China in industrial and supply chains would actually enhance its supply chain efficiency and resource allocation.
Responding to the US’ reported actions, Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong urged the US to refrain from taking the wrong approach and assured that China would take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
Meanwhile, in a bid to address concerns surrounding investments in Chinese corporations, four bipartisan bills were introduced by Victoria Spartz, an Indiana Republican, and Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, on March 20. One of the bills would restrict US mutual funds from investing in certain products tracking Chinese stock indexes, marking one of the most aggressive measures targeting investments in China by American lawmakers, as reported by Bloomberg on Friday.
Another measure proposed in the bills would require US publicly traded companies to disclose the role China plays in their supply chains to investors, while a different provision aims to eliminate a US capital gains tax break for investments in companies based in China, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
He Weiwen noted that these bills reflect the deep-seated hostility toward China in US political circles, particularly in Congress, which could further strain China-US relations. Hu Qimu added that the US is still pursuing efforts to decouple its industrial and supply chain from China while attempting to stem investment flows into the country, despite China’s intensified efforts to attract foreign investment.