In a recent address at the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China, Premier Li Qiang defended his country’s electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery industries against allegations of overcapacity and unfair subsidies from the West.
What Happened: Li’s comments come amid escalating trade tensions between China and the U.S. and EU, reported Reuters on Tuesday. The U.S. recently imposed significant tariff hikes on various Chinese imports, including EV batteries, while the EU is considering imposing tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
“The rapid rise of China’s new industries is rooted in our own unique comparative advantages,” Li said. “The continuous emergence of economies of scale can effectively dilute enterprises’ innovation costs… which is the real source of the strong competitiveness of China’s new industries.”
Li refuted the allegations, stating that China’s production of advanced EVs, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products not only meets domestic demand ...