China’s industrial strengths must also benefit its trading partners
Por Wang Huiyao — South China Morning Post – News feed
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Opinion Wang Huiyao China’s industrial strengths must also benefit its trading partners
By shifting towards domestic consumption and exporting industrial know-how, Beijing can give global partners a genuine stake in its growth
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Wang Huiyao Wang Huiyao is the founder of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based non-governmental think tank. Published: 5:30am, 25 Sep 2026 The European Commission is pressing China for progress by next month to address the widening EU-China trade imbalance, and raising the possibility of new protectionist trade policy. The deadline raises a question: how should China and its trading partners address perceived economic imbalances while sharing the benefits of Chinese industrial competitiveness? China’s merchandise trade surplus approached US$1.2 trillion last year even as other exporting economies press for controls. “Overcapacity” is accepted as the blanket explanation for China’s industrial success, with government support leading to a production glut. But this framing obscures more than it clarifies. China’s success is multifaceted, given the vast scale of its ecosystem, intense domestic competition and dense supplier networks. An effective response must distinguish between genuine imbalances and the productive advantages that offer opportunities for cooperation. Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice