MERICS China Podcast

China’s overcapacities, with Jacob Gunter and Esther Goreichy

MERICS Episode 266

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0:00 | 36:49

Although 2025 saw China being faced with increased pressure and tariffs imposed by Washington and a marked decrease in exports to the US, the Chinese balance sheet still showed a record global trade surplus of 1.2 trillion USD. Jacob Gunter, Head of the Economy and Industry program at MERICS, and Esther Goreichy, Visiting Fellow at the institute, join Johannes Heller-John to talk about the reasons for cheap Chinese exports, cut-throat competition in China and the cost for Chinese society.

Jacob and Esther recently launched a new project which tracks China’s overcapacities across sectors: the MERICS Overcapacity Monitor. Explore the Monitor here.