Ministry of Commerce: US has no right to unilaterally determine whether its trading partners have "overcapacity" through Section 301 investigation.

On March 13th, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce answered questions from reporters on the announcement by the Office of the United States Trade Representative to launch a 301 investigation into 16 economies, including China, on the grounds of "overcapacity." The spokesperson stated that China has noticed that the US has initiated a 301 investigation into 16 economies, including China, on the grounds of "overcapacity." The 301 investigation is a typical unilateral act that seriously disrupts the international economic and trade order. WTO experts have already ruled that the tariff measures taken under the 301 investigation violate WTO rules. The spokesperson pointed out that China has repeatedly clarified its position on the so-called "overcapacity theory" put forward by the US. The world economy has long become an inseparable whole, with production and consumption being global in nature, requiring matching and adjustment of supply and demand from a global perspective. If each country's production only met domestic market demands, there would be no cross-border trade. The US cannot narrowly define production capacity exceeding domestic demand as "overcapacity" and label it as "excessive." The US has no right to unilaterally determine whether a trading partner has "overcapacity" through a 301 investigation and impose unilateral restrictive measures. The full text is as follows: [original text provided]