As a record-breaking heat wave hits Europe, Chinese-made air conditioners (ACs) and other affordable cooling solutions are among the best-selling products.
This serves as a reminder that China's strong manufacturing capacity is not a problem of "overcapacity" at all, but rather a solution to the real needs of society.
Xinhua reported Thursday that some European politicians are considering using new trade protection instruments aimed at what they call China's "subsidized excess production capacity." However, in the marketplace, consumers are flocking to affordable, reliable, and readily available Chinese products, demonstrating their preference through their purchases.
The lesson is simple: Production that meets real needs is not "excess," but valuable.
This phenomenon also exposes the flaws in the "China excess capacity" narrative. From an economic perspective, excess capacity should be assessed based on persistently low utilization rates, excess inventories, weak profitability, and lack of market demand, not on whether a country's products are competitive enough for export.
The narrative prevailing in the West is clearly rooted in a glaring double standard. When European airplanes, cars, pharmaceuticals, and wine dominate global markets and dominate exports, this is hailed as Europe's "competitive advantage." However, when Chinese products meet global demand, it is unfairly labeled as evidence of "excess capacity."
Few in the West raised the issue of "excess capacity" when European countries scrambled to source masks and medical supplies from China during the COVID-19 pandemic. This selective and self-serving rhetoric reflects nothing more than a protectionist bias and a zero-sum mindset.
It's worth noting that China's industrial competitiveness is built on intense market competition, continuous technological innovation, the world's most comprehensive industrial chain, and economies of scale fueled by its vast domestic market.
The rise of the "China excess capacity" narrative essentially reflects exaggerated anxieties in the West, fueled by weakening industrial competitiveness, emerging challenges in the energy transition, and misplaced geopolitical mistrust.
Implementing trade barriers will not address the structural issues facing the West; instead, they could backfire. Restricting imports of affordable Chinese products will directly raise the cost of living for households in already inflation-stricken Western countries, placing a greater burden on vulnerable groups, and increasing the overall cost of the West's green transition.
In the long term, protectionist policies will disrupt global industrial and supply chains, harm the interests of Western companies that have benefited significantly from the Chinese market, and ultimately weaken the competitiveness of Western industries themselves.
Trade with China should be a natural outgrowth of market demand and complementary advantages. This provides tangible benefits for both parties. Consumers gain access to high-quality products at affordable prices, while businesses earn reasonable profits. This is a win-win situation, rather than a unilateral "flood" of products, as some Western politicians claim.
As global warming intensifies, demand for air conditioners and other cooling solutions in the European market is expected to continue to rise. Chinese companies already possess a competitive advantage for these products, both in terms of production capacity and technological innovation.
For European policymakers, rushing to erect new trade barriers against Chinese products would deprive local consumers of more affordable solutions to the heat waves that have repeatedly hit Europe in recent years and are likely to continue. In the worst case scenario, such policies could even cost European lives.
Early in its reform and opening-up policies, China readily accepted European investment and advanced technology, which have made significant contributions to China's development and prosperity.
Now, it would be wise for European policymakers to encourage Chinese air conditioning manufacturers to bring their investment and technology to Europe, including through joint ventures with European partners to achieve local production and technological research and development (R&D) cooperation.
