Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese version, a French international broadcasting station, reported on the 2nd that about 60% of Chinese companies' overseas market share relies on government subsidies.

The article reported that a recent report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which comprehensively analyzed public support policies for industries implemented worldwide over the past 20 years, revealed that China has provided massive financial support to industries such as storage batteries, solar panels, and automobile manufacturing, concluding that this has brought about significant changes in the structure of the global economy.

On this matter, the French newspaper Les Echos pointed out that "the subsidies provided by the Chinese government to over a dozen strategic industries amount to about 3% of the sales of these industries, and have been one of the major factors contributing to China's increasing share in the international market since 2005." Based on the OECD report, it was reported that the average amount of government subsidies received by Chinese companies between 2005 and 2024 reached 3 to 8 times that of companies in OECD member countries, and was a much higher level compared to other emerging countries such as Brazil, India, and Indonesia.

It then pointed out that "in an open and globalized economic environment, these subsidy policies distort the market and affect global trade activities." It reported that the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate cited the example that in Europe, subsidies account for only about 0.5% of companies' sales, criticizing this as "extremely unfair competition." The same report points out that about 60% of the market share gained by Chinese companies in the global market is dependent on such subsidies.

Furthermore, Les Echos' article mentioned that the report reveals not only criticism of China's "exploitation of loopholes in the system" and disregard for competition rules, but also criticism of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) dysfunction in not being able to adequately address these situations. It introduced former WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy's past remark, "If we could do it again, the WTO should have focused more on supervising market rule compliance."

Meanwhile, the French newspaper Le Figaro raised two notable conclusions from the OECD report. The first is that public subsidies are increasing worldwide, with the trend particularly evident in new energy-related equipment and semiconductor sectors. The second is that the scale of these subsidies in China is at the world's highest level. Le Figaro's article assessed that "although China's violations of WTO rules have long been widely known, this OECD report for the first time presented quantitative data on the reality of the situation," and argued, "Without such government subsidies, Chinese companies, especially automobile manufacturers, would not have been able to achieve overseas expansion on the current scale."

Building on that, it stated, "As Europe has strictly regulated government support for businesses by various countries for decades and emphasized fair competition, the impact of China's subsidy policies on Europe is extremely serious." It added, "As a result of this, even while China is affected by trade friction with the United States, it has further strengthened its advantage in international trade by leveraging industries such as electric vehicles (EVs) and green technologies."

Le Figaro's article stated that "in recent years, the recognition has spread in Europe that their own major companies find it difficult to compete with giant Chinese companies receiving government subsidies," while adding, "Because of differing interests among EU member states, it remains difficult to take a unified approach towards rapidly rising China." (Translation/Editing by Kitada)