Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

Some US politicians seem to have developed a habit of criticizing China's economic model. Last year, they hyped up the narrative of "overcapacity." This year, they've come up with a new accusation: China's export-driven economy is hurting the world. On April 23, US Treasury Secretary Jeff Besant said that Beijing's export-dependent economic model is "unsustainable" and is hurting not only China but the rest of the world. 

However, this criticism of China's exports distorts the facts. China's exports are not only a product of economic globalization, but also create tremendous opportunities for those doing business with China to better utilize resources and achieve sustainable development.

China's exports are a natural outcome of globalization and market competition. The emergence of international trade originates from the mutual exchange of goods and services, rooted in the supply and demand dynamics of participating economies. Through exchanges grounded in comparative advantage, countries have built a global supply network: those strong in agriculture export agricultural products, those with more efficient manufacturing industries export industrial goods and those with developed service sectors export services. Under the WTO rules and the guiding principle of cooperation, countries have worked to lower tariffs and remove non-tariff barriers, creating better conditions for the development of global trade.

Over the past few decades, as a key player in economic globalization, China has continuously expanded its openness to the world, fulfilled its WTO commitments, improved its legal and regulatory framework for economic development, and attracted investors from across the globe. Chinese enterprises have actively embraced internationalization and, through market competition, gradually built a complex and complete manufacturing system.

China's exports are a crucial support for enabling more affordable and sustainable development worldwide. China mainly exports machinery, equipment and electronic products - a direct reflection of its industrial strengths. High quality at competitive prices is a hallmark of "Made in China." While ensuring high standards, Chinese enterprises have continuously optimized the entire production process, enhanced resource efficiency, shortened delivery times and reduced distribution costs at every stage - creating greater value for all players in the supply chain.

Take the automotive industry. China's competitiveness is growing not only in vehicle manufacturing but also across a wide range of automotive parts and components. At the recent Shanghai International Automobile Exhibition, various major car brands and companies focused on key automotive solutions and systems. This emphasized the industry's continuous improvement in two areas: vertical collaboration - companies working together across different levels of the supply chain; and horizontal specialization - companies focusing on becoming more specialized in their specific area within the automotive industry.

Due to the long transportation cycles of international trade, the trade is vulnerable to disruptions caused by weather, regional conflicts and other unforeseen events. Ensuring stable supply is of great significance for the sustainability of production by enterprises across different countries. 

In this regard, China's exports offer unparalleled advantages. The importer does not need to worry about supply chain disruptions and encounters fewer instances of Chinese exporters failing to fulfill their commitments, directly reducing the overall operational costs for the importer.

The development of China's exports is not about the continuous expansion of the scale of products, but rather about continuous innovation based on market demand. Chinese companies have been enhancing their capabilities in emerging industries and actively exploring new trade products and cooperation areas. These products fill gaps in the global market supply, creating favorable conditions for countries to achieve their socio-economic development goals. 

In contrast, the US, as the world's largest economy, has a huge import scale and is an important global demand-side player. However, under the current administration, the US has imposed tariffs based on consumer market purchasing power and pressured and bullied trade partners, which is leading to a global supply chain reorganization and chaos that has already had a real impact on the global economy. As suppliers in various countries worry about demand fluctuations, they will have to seek new partners outside the US market, which could further reduce their dependence on the US market.

The author is a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. [email protected]