G7 Leaders Unite Against Chinese Excess Production Capacity
From June 13 – 15, 2024, the Group of Seven (“G7”) held a leaders’ summit in Apulia, Italy, consisting of representatives from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The summit hosted six working sessions, including one session on “Indo-Pacific and economic security.”
According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, in the lead-up to the meeting, “G7 country leaders are more unified than ever on a range of geopolitical issues includ[ing] Chinese practices that spur excess capacity.” Actions preceding and during the G7 summit appear to support this position:
- On June 12, the European Union announced plans to introduce additional tariffs of up to 38% on imports of electric vehicles from China. Further, regarding the EU’s contemplated tariffs, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai stated, “We welcome action by our trading partners to push back on China’s non-market excess capacity.”
- On June 14, Secretary Yellen of the US Department of the Treasury released a statement highlighting that the G7 Summit reiterated concerns the Secretary has “repeatedly voiced, including directly with [her] Chinese counterparts, on China’s overcapacity . . . in manufacturing including in key industries like solar, electric vehicles, and lithium-ion batteries.”
- On June 14, G7 leaders released a statement emphasizing that the G7 has “concerns about China’s persistent industrial targeting and comprehensive non-market policies and practices that are leading to global spillovers, market distortions and harmful overcapacity in a growing range of sectors,” as well as undermining “workers, industries, and economic resilience and security.” G7 leaders further stressed that they “are not decoupling or turning inwards” and “are de-risking and diversifying supply chains where necessary and appropriate, and fostering resilience to economic coercion.”
An additional focus during the summit was the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (“PGI”), an infrastructure financing incentive meant to be a counterpart to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. During the summit, President Biden and other G7 leaders reaffirmed “their commitment to unlocking public and private capital for projects by de-risking and driving layered investment across sectors in partner countries.” The leaders also “discussed how PGI connects and energizes like‑minded countries, the private sector, multilateral development banks, and development finance institutions to drive sustainable and transparent investment in quality infrastructure.” The White House stated that, to date, the US “has mobilized more than $60 billion towards PGI investments” and will “work towards the goal of mobilizing $200 billion by 2027, as part of the broader 67 target of $600 billion by 2027.”
