“It would be nice to block this mechanism, so that whatever the outcome of the American elections, you have $50 billion to play with,” said Charles Lichfield, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
Although Russia dominated the talks, fears about the threat of China’s industrial overcapacity loomed large. Policymakers fear that a wave of heavily subsidized Chinese green energy technology products will cripple clean energy sectors in the United States and Europe, leading to job losses and dependence on China for solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles and other products.
President Biden last week raised tariffs on some Chinese imports, including imposing a 100% tax on electric vehicles, and left in place taxes on more than $300 billion worth of Chinese goods imposed by President Donald J. Trump. This week, Yellen called on Europe and the Group of 7 to more forcefully confront China over its trade practices.
“We need to stand together and send a unified message to China that it understands that it’s not just one country that thinks this way, but that it faces a wall of opposition to the strategy it’s pursuing,” Yellen said at a news conference. Press conference. opening press conference.
European countries are pursuing their own investigations into China’s trade practices and are considering further tariffs. However, they are taking different approaches, and some nations, such as Germany, fear that a trade clash with China would damage their own economies, which rely heavily on exports to the Chinese market. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner warned that trade wars are “all about losses.”