reply South China Morning Post: U.S. increasingly departing from free trade principles

BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. has criticized China for taking advantage of its manufacturing sector to produce competitively priced exports, which runs counter to the principle of free trade, said an opinion piece recently published in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post. The article, written by Deng Zhaosheng, a Distinguished Professor at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the U.S. is "concerned" about the surge in exports of Chinese products, including electric cars and solar panels. As a member of the World Trade Organization, China has the right to use its hard-won capacity to increase exports while abiding by established trade rules. The article points out that China has the ability to produce high-quality products at low cost due to lower labor costs, economies of scale, and an efficient production system. Trade barriers are a form of protectionism that can lead to economic stagnation. A more constructive approach than implementing protectionist policies would be for China and the U.S. to have a more open and cooperative relationship that promotes fair and efficient trade. Another opinion piece published in the South China Morning Post said that the U.S. side is making a big mistake by conflating overcapacity with the broader issue of the electric vehicle market. Given that Chinese EVs are currently excluded from the U.S. market, it is the high price of EVs in the U.S. market that is preventing their widespread popularity, not China's overcapacity. U.S. rhetoric criticizing China's EV overcapacity is clearly influenced by domestic politics rather than concerns about the economy, especially in an election year.