China's commerce ministry slams US Section 301 probe targeting overcapacity as unilateralism

BEIJING - The recent US launch of a Section 301 investigation targeting overcapacity is a typical act of unilateralism that severely disrupts the international economic order, a Chinese commerce ministry official said Tuesday.

The United States can not arbitrarily define production capacity that merely exceeds domestic demand as "overcapacity" and slap on such a label at will, Lin Weilong, director of the policy research office of the Ministry of Commerce, said at a news conference.

He said the US side has no authority to unilaterally determine whether its trading partners have "overcapacity" through a Section 301 probe, nor to impose unilateral restrictive measures based on such a determination.

China urges the United States to correct its wrongdoings and return to the proper path of resolving differences through dialogue and consultation, Lin said. China will closely follow the developments and reserves the right to take all necessary actions to firmly defend its legitimate rights and interests, he added.

The ministry on Tuesday released a document titled "China's Position on the So-called Excess Capacity Issue" to clarify relevant facts and elaborate on China's policy stance on the so-called excess capacity issue.

The document said that the rapid development of China's modern industries is driven by innovation and that stable and healthy operation of Chinese industries relies on the continuous deepening of reforms.