US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that the United States and Europe needed to respond to China’s industrial overcapacity in a “strategic and united way” to keep manufacturers viable on both sides of the Atlantic.
Yellen told reporters during a visit to Frankfurt that G7 finance ministers shared US concerns about Chinese efforts to dominate clean energy industries, but did not need “detailed coordination” on trade actions following the imposition of steep US tariffs on Chinese goods.
“But I do think that the concerns about China’s strategy are shared and all I’m suggesting is that given that many countries share this concern, it’s more forceful to communicate to China as a group,” Yellen said.
In remarks on the US-European alliance in Frankfurt, Yellen said China’s excess industrial capacity threatened both American and European firms as well as the industrial development of emerging market countries.
“China’s industrial policy may seem remote as we sit here in this room, but if we do not respond strategically and in a united way, the viability of businesses in both our countries and around the world could be at risk,” she said.
