China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that relations between the two countries economically are beneficial to both sides and urged U.S. policymakers to respect market economy norms concerning Washington’s new tariff action on Chinese graphite products.
This announcement comes after the U.S. Commerce Department imposed, on a preliminary basis, anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on anode-grade graphite imported from China, a significant component for electric vehicle battery production, after determining that Chinese exports were sold below fair value levels as reported by Reuters. Those imports from China had a value of about $347 million in 2023.
China Calls for Stability in Bilateral Trade
Lin Jian, the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, called on the U.S. to observe market economy rules in the areas of international trade rules and commitments as a way of maintaining a “healthy and stable” economic relationship with China.
Lin reiterated that mutual benefit is the foundation of Sino-U.S. economic cooperation and warned that unilateral protectionist actions could jeopardize established trading ties and undermine shared prosperity.
Expert Warns of Backfire on U.S. Industry and Consumers
According to a comment by a China industry expert, U.S. protectionist measures are self-defeating; U.S. companies and their end-use consumer will be impacted with higher prices for critical minerals. China has a strong competitive advantage in graphite production, so it is ready to supply high quality, cost effective material that U.S. manufacturers are currently relying on.
China’s expert emphasized that replacing Chinese graphite supply chains would be challenging, which is a complicated and costly venture for the U.S. EV and battery manufacturers that could wipe out profit margins and slow innovation.
