'Yellen' about China's green energy plans not a good look

Editor's note: Anthony Moretti, a special commentator for CGTN, is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Janet Yellen, the United States' treasury secretary, is not a person that comes to mind when someone thinks of which member of U.S. President Joe Biden's cabinet will say something ridiculous about China. More often than not, Secretary of State Antony Blinken or Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin can be counted on to say something head-scratching.

Therefore, when Secretary Yellen recently blasted China's efforts at advancing more green energy initiatives, eyes – and mouths – were wide open.

According to Yellen, China's attempts at strengthening the so-called new three – solar power, electric vehicles (EVs) and lithium-ion batteries – are wrong because they create an unfair competitive structure that "distorts global prices" and "hurts American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world." 

She is correct in suggesting that new technologies disrupt the cycle of creation, production, distribution and use. They should do just that. But now that China is the location of that innovation and disruption, the world should demand that the Chinese should stop. That is what America's elite want people all across the globe to believe.

Think about how computers forever altered business practices, communication opportunities, education and more; and also remember that these new technologies are initially high-priced. Yes, the computer was at first unaffordable to most Americans. For example, the inflation-adjusted price for a new Apple II desktop, released in 1977, is now over $5,300. The price for the top-line Apple computer today? Around $1,500. And let's set aside that the processing power, graphics and much more makes that $3,800 difference seem more like $38 million.

Was any legitimate American politician clutching pearls over the cost of computers almost 50 years ago? Was anyone worried about disrupting how people across the globe worked and learned? Anyone claiming that the U.S. was seeking to undermine global competition would have been laughed out of office. 

Yes, the computer was a disruptor. Fast forward to 2024, and China is making significant advances in solar power, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries, three technologies that will improve the lives of billions of people while also aiding the environment. And in the let-the-market-decide philosophy that the West preaches, although only when the West benefits from it, global audiences are demanding these Chinese goods. 

Take the EV as an example. Before the year is out, China's share of the EV market in Europe is expected to swell to more than 25 percent. Bravo, right? Hardly, at least in the U.S. and the West. A New York Times editorial suggested that China's EV industry would hit "Detroit like a wrecking ball." (Detroit is still considered home to the American auto industry, although cars are built all across the country.) Detroit is Michigan's largest city, and the governor of that state is raising alarm bells that China could flood U.S. markets with its cars. Bloomberg noted that the "cheap" price of these EVs might appeal to U.S. drivers, especially with current prices for EVs bursting past $60,000. Bloomberg added that there was no timetable for when those Chinese-made cars might arrive in the U.S. 

So, put it all together and if America is the disruptor, then American politicians want the world to adjust to a new reality. But if China is the disruptor, then American politicians want China to slow down what it is doing.

China will do no such thing. In late March, the country's Commerce Ministry announced it had filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization, arguing that the U.S. was discriminating against China by limiting the number of EVs that would generate a tax credit for the person who bought one.

Returning to Secretary Yellen, we should admit that her remarks cannot be taken seriously. Yes, they have scored political points at home, and President Biden needs all the points he can get. His re-election remains in doubt, so bashing China is a guaranteed way to sound tough. The reality, not lost on skeptics, is that her remarks were an attempt to set the agenda for her trip to China.

She would be wise to remember that four in 10 Americans responded to a recent Pew Research Center poll by acknowledging an interest in buying an EV. Americans between the ages of 18-49 are enthusiastic about such an option, noting that the benefits to the environment and the savings on gas are primary reasons. 

One is left to wonder if that audience is willing to listen to tired rhetoric centering on what China should and should not do.

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