The U.S. accuses China of overcapacity. Here's what they really mean

Editor's note: Since March, some U.S. politicians have alleged that China's renewable energy industry has "overcapacity." What motivates them to say this? How well is the American media covering the U.S.-China green energy competition? American journalist and comedian, Lee Camp, shared his thoughts on the topic in this monologue. The views expressed in the video are his own and not necessarily those of CGTN.

If you've been reading the headlines recently, the U.S. government has found a new reason to hate China – it's not evil weather balloons or the awful Olympics that ran really well or Huawei that they… Why did we hate Huawei again?

Now it's that China is overcapacity! That's right – overcapacity! China is producing too much stuff that people really want to buy! You scoundrels!

The Wall Street Journal had a blaring headline recently saying "China's Overcapacity Is Already Backfiring!" But if you look at the second sentence of the article, it says "China's first-quarter growth beat most estimates, rising 5.3 percent on the year," so by "backfiring" they meant "they're doing better than expected"! It's kind of like how "Avengers: End Game" backfired. By "backfired," I mean sold all the movie tickets ever, and made a gazillion dollars, and most people liked it.

Let's be clear when U.S. officials say that China has an overcapacity problem, they aren't referring to all the things China produces. If you live in the U.S. like me, then you know everything we have here is made in China – toys, boots, shower curtains, toothbrushes and silly Halloween costume that you put on your cat that she totally hates, but you find hilarious – all made in China.

No, U.S. officials are only concerned about a very specific group of things. As Reuters reported, in her visit to China, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen chastised "China over excess industrial capacity in electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and batteries." What do those three things have in common? Oh, they're all used to get off fossil fuels and thereby at least stem climate change and thereby actually have a future for our children and grandchildren that doesn't consist of floating down the street on a mattress your whole life.

Well, Yellen must be yelling because those Chinese electric vehicles must be cheap and crappy! Right? They must have wooden boards hanging off and doors that won't open and air bags that explode into your face every time you stop at a red light, and radios that only play John Mayer!

Actually, nope. Even U.S. propaganda magazine The Atlantic admitted, "Chinese electric vehicles – cheap, stylish, and high quality – should be a godsend to the Biden administration… Instead, the White House is going out of its way to keep Chinese EVs out of the U.S."

Clearly, the White House is afraid that seeing something high quality might be a shock to the American public that we can't get over. We're used to our bridges collapsing, our planes losing their doors in mid-flight, and our trains derailing before exploding. Seeing something work would be really confusing to our average Americans.

So why is it the U.S. government doesn't want cheap, high quality EVs, solar panels and batteries? I'm gonna tell you a secret. The U.S. economy and the U.S. dollar are entirely based on fossil fuel sales. You see, it's called the petrodollar. And it means the U.S. needs as much fossil fuels to be bought and sold around the globe in U.S. currency as possible all of the time. This means our currency has power and is relatively stable.

If fossil fuels stop being gobbled up due to high quality EVs and efficient solar panels and high-tech batteries, then the U.S. dollar goes like a balloon when you untie it. That was a technical economics term. This means the U.S. finds anything that is causing oil dollar sales to decrease to be dangerous to the U.S. global rule. For example, "In 2023 alone, China added more solar panels than the U.S. did in our nation's history."

Why would China do such a thing? I'm going to read you this next quote and see if you can guess which crazy Chinese media outlet it's from – "China's leaders have their own calculations, which prioritize stability decades from now over shareholder returns today… It is crucial for Americans to recognize that, for most of the world, perhaps for all of us, China's ability to provide low-cost green technology is, on balance, great news."

That quote actually comes from the incredibly pro-U.S. New York Times. Even they at times acknowledge that getting off fossil fuels is great for the world and China's green technologies are not something to be feared but instead celebrated harder than your aunt on New Years after she's had five drinks! "No Aunt Eunice, I don't think you should dance on the table with a hamster on your head!" Sorry, flashback.

To get back to the overcapacity issue, it's also a beautiful way for the U.S. and Europe to blame their economic woes on China. Be honest, Europe is not suffering right now because China made too many cheap, highly efficient planet-saving cars and solar panels. No!

Europe is in trouble because of the U.S.-backed proxy-war in Ukraine that destroyed their energy market and blew up their most important pipeline! What are you going to come after next, America? Europe's beer supply? Is there nothing sacred? Have you no shame?

At the heart of it, the U.S. is "overcapacity" on propaganda and lies. I wonder if we can ship some of that to another country? Maybe we can build a pipeline!

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