BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The West is accusing China of "overcapacity" to blame it for its own industrial demise, said an article published Monday on the website of the Australian journal Pearls and Irritations.
In the piece titled "'Nothing like before' -- China is out-competing the West on EVs," author Pawel Wargan argues that over the past year, Western politicians and media have coordinated efforts to blame China's overcapacity for rising trade deficits and the West's failure to reindustrialize.
The article explains that overcapacity can be measured by industrial capacity utilization rate, inventory levels, and profit margins. Quoting French economics commentator Arnaud Bertrand, the article asserts that China shows no signs of overcapacity in any of these areas -- its industrial utilization rates and inventory levels are similar to those of the United States, and its profit margins are soaring.
Moreover, the article argues that the West's industrial decline long precedes China's rise. The United States has run a trade deficit since the late 1970s, and Europe faces economic pressures from rising fuel prices and attempts to decouple from Russia. Germany, for example, is deindustrializing, with major manufacturers like Volkswagen cutting jobs across Europe.
Wargan suggests that the "overcapacity" accusation serves two purposes: it justifies Western protectionist policies and subsidies while deflecting attention from the structural decline of global capitalism. By blaming China, Western leaders can mask the failure of the capitalist system to sustain the standard of living it once did.
The article warns that these accusations may fuel a dangerous hybrid war with implications far beyond China's borders. The tariffs imposed by the United States, the EU, and Canada indicate not only an inability to compete with China but also a willingness to sabotage China's economy, and the global green transition, rather than cooperate.
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