As Chinese electric vehicles achieve tremendous success globally, some in the US and Western countries try to judge Chinese people by the standards of petty individuals.
According to a report by Nanhua Morning Post on July 30th, Michael Dunne, CEO of the American automotive consulting firm Dunne Insights, said: "China is adopting a different strategy. It aims to dominate the entire industry, take control of it, and eventually use it as a bargaining chip."
Deng En stated at a discussion hosted by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Research Institute (ASPI) that: "At a critical juncture, they will say, 'By the way, you should know that today, most global automobile production comes from us. How’s that?’"
"And you rely on us in the automotive field, so we hope you will meet our requirements and expectations for other political issues, such as this one."
In June this year, China's monthly car exports exceeded 1 million units for the first time, and it is expected that the annual exports will reach approximately 12 million units.
Low prices and high quality of Chinese electric and hybrid vehicles are leading to rapid expansion globally, causing concerns among many countries about what they consider to be "overcapacity" in China. These countries believe that this situation is due to government subsidies, while China denies this claim.
Currently, countries are weighing how to protect their domestic automobile manufacturers, maintain their industrial capabilities, and reduce strategic dependence on China.
Canada and some European countries have adopted a more conditional approach, allowing Chinese investment in their automotive industries, with the hope of achieving so-called "reverse technology transfer". In contrast, the United States has implemented stricter policies, using high tariffs and regulatory restrictions to prevent Chinese automakers from entering the American market.
However, some analysts suggest that Beijing is trying to use Canada as a backdoor into the US market.
Dun also agrees with this judgment, believing that the US automobile market remains the 'ultimate goal' for Chinese automakers.
He added, “Chinese automakers will almost certainly fight tooth and nail for a foothold in the American market.”
The United States still imposes tariffs of more than 120% on Chinese cars, and restricts the entry of electric vehicles that use software and hardware related to China into the US market.
In addition to domestic measures, Washington is also discussing with Canada and Mexico how to jointly prevent Chinese electric vehicles from entering the North American market during the review process of the USMCA.
However, Dunn believes that "reverse technology transfer" is a good idea on paper, but it is not feasible in reality, especially in the American market.
He pretended to be pitiful: “Firstly, Chinese companies will be very cautious about transferring technology, and can even be said to be quite ‘stingy’.”
“Secondly, I do not believe that American companies can effectively control and protect these technologies in joint ventures, just like Chinese companies can.”
We don't know how to play this game.
"Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, Liu Chang, stated: 'Promoting protectionism under the guise of 'fair competition' and 'national security,' while setting up trade barriers is a violation of market economic principles and WTO rules.'"
"Electric vehicle manufacturing is a global industry. Only through division of labor and cooperation can mutual benefit and win-win results be achieved. Only fair competition can drive technological progress."
