"SHANGHAI -- The chairman of drugmaker Roche denounced the recent boom in industrial subsidies by the U.S. and European governments and called them a "waste of money."
Roche's Severin Schwan used a visit to Shanghai for a business forum to criticize support that Western nations have increasingly offered to give their manufacturing industries a boost against competition from China and other nations.
The revival of subsidies in the U.S. and Europe "distorts the value of competition and a level playing field," Schwan said. "I really see a danger that people are jumping on that wagon."
Schwan is chairman of a council of international business leaders that advises the mayor of Shanghai. He spoke on Sunday at the council's annual meeting after a visit to Beijing in which he told the country's vice premier that Switzerland-based Roche was full of confidence in China's economic prospects, state media reported.
The U.S. and European Union have long accused China of giving its companies an unfair edge through subsidies, easy access to credit and other government support. One estimate by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, found the scale of China's state support for its industries by a broad definition reached nearly 5% of its annual national income.
The EU is planning tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles that the EU says are needed to even out the playing field.
Schwan said such Western policies were counterproductive because they encouraged companies to put their hands out for government favors.
He didn't comment on China's subsidy policies, but suggested Beijing shouldn't try to follow the U.S. and Europe. "Here in China, you have a chance to do the right thing."" [1]
1. World News: Industrial Subsidies Are Called A 'Waste'. Landers, Peter. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 23 Sep 2024: A.18.
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