China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Tuesday released a document titled "China's Position on the So-called Excess Capacity Issue" to clarify the facts surrounding the matter and elaborate China's policy stance on the issue.

The document states that the rapid development of China's modern industries has been driven by innovation, adding that the relationship between manufacturing capacity and demand is a changing dynamic in a market economy.

The document urges all parties to be open-minded and objective when it comes to the issue of capacity, saying that protectionism can only disturb global trade and bring long-term risks to global growth.

Liu Zhiqin, senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, called for a more comprehensive and objective assessment of global production capacity in an interview with CGTN. He said claims of so-called "overcapacity" are based on what he described as overly critical assumptions by some Western countries in response to China's rapid industrial development.

Following the release of the document, Lin Weilong, a MOFCOM researcher, told the press that China's industrial capacity utilization is at a reasonable level — 74.4% among factories over a designated size in 2025. Lin said the capacity utilization rate of high-end manufacturers was even higher, while the rate among traditional sectors was relatively lower as result of the ongoing green transition nationwide. 

(With inputs from Xinhua)