The U.S. theory of China's "overcapacity" is aimed at hitting Chinese industry, another example of economic coercion and bullying by the United States. This was stated by Lin Jian, spokesman of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Friday.

Lin Jian made the statement while commenting on the issue of "overcapacity" in China, which has been hyped recently by the United States.

Accusations of China's "overcapacity" are nothing new, Lin Jian said at a regular briefing for journalists, recalling that a few years ago the United States accused China of "overcapacity" for exporting large quantities of high-quality and cheap products.

Now, the Chinese diplomat continued, the United States is labeling China's exports of new energy products as "overcapacity." "The United States exports 80 percent of its microchips, especially high-tech microchips, and yet it is a major exporter of pork and agricultural products. Can this be called an example of 'overcapacity' according to American logic?" -- Lin Jian wondered.

In fact, the Chinese diplomat pointed out, the ratio of exports of new-energy vehicles to production is much lower than in Germany, Japan and the Republic of Korea. "We certainly do not have to talk about 'selling surplus production to the world market' here," -- the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman noted.

Lin Jian pointed out that the "overcapacity" issue appears to be purely economic at first glance, but in fact the United States is using it to restrain and pressure Chinese industry, thereby giving the United States itself an unfair advantage in market competition. This is another example of economic coercion and bullying by the United States, the Chinese diplomat stated.

He noted that in today's world, supply and demand are global in nature, and each country's production capacity is determined by its comparative advantage. This should be viewed from an objective, dialectical and rational point of view based on the laws of economics, Lin Jian emphasized.

He said China has taken the lead in new energy sources due to its real potential, scientific and technological innovation and full-scale market competition.

"A sick person does not get well by forcing others to take the medicine," -- Lin Jian reminded, adding that those who use "overcapacity" to justify protectionism gain nothing, but only destabilize global value chains, harm nascent industries, and hinder the international community's common efforts to combat climate change and green transition.

"We call on the United States to abandon hegemonic thinking, adopt an open-minded approach, follow fair competition, practically abide by the principles of market economy and international trade and economic rules, ensure a truly internationalized, market-based and legal environment for trade and economic cooperation, and work together with the international community to promote the development of inclusive economic globalization that benefits all," the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson summarized.

China Southern Airlines said its inaugural flight from Beijing to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday was a success and marked the launch of the first direct passenger air route from mainland China to Saudi Arabia.

According to the carrier, flights on an Airbus A330-300 airliner will be operated on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The aircraft will depart from Daxing International Airport in Beijing at 15:10 local time and land at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh at 20:10 local time. The flight duration will be about 10 hours.

At the same time, the return flight will depart Riyadh at 22:10 local time and arrive in the Chinese capital at 12:00 the following day. The duration of the return flight will take about 8 hours and 50 minutes.

Zhang Dongsheng of China Southern Airlines' marketing department said that in recent years, cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative has brought practical results: China and Saudi Arabia continue to deepen economic, cultural and tourism cooperation.

He said the opening of a regular direct air route will further promote humanitarian and trade and economic exchanges between the two countries.

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, a total of 802 China-Europe freight trains passed through the border port of Eren-Hoto /Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, North China/, up 7.5 percent from the same period last year, the local commerce department said Tuesday.

Of those 802 trains, 426 departed China, up 0.5 percent year-on-year, while 376, in contrast, arrived there, up 16.8 percent year-on-year.

The Eren-Hoto border crossing is an important land port for Chinese goods exports to Mongolia, Russia and Europe. At present, 71 China-Europe international rail freight routes pass through the port, and a total of more than 15,000 rail trains of this category have already passed through the port in both directions.

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, the total cargo turnover through the shipping locks of the Sanxia hydroelectric project -- the world's largest hydropower project -- amounted to 30.2 million tons. This is evidenced by the official data presented on Thursday.

According to China Three Gorges Corporation, despite difficult weather conditions and temporary closure of the northern shipping lock for scheduled maintenance, navigation through the hydroelectric project remained stable and orderly in the first three months of this year.

A total of 8,080 vessels passed through the Sanxia locks from January to March, according to the corporation.

The Sanxia Dam shipping locks were officially opened for navigation in 2004. For 10 consecutive years from 2014 to 2023, the annual cargo turnover of the project's ship locks exceeded 100 million tons, according to official data.

A freight train left Taiyuan, Shanxi Province /North China/ for Moscow on Thursday, marking the launch of a new route within the framework of China-Europe international rail freight transportation.

Leaving Huanghoyuan station in Taiyuan, this train will cross the state border at the Eren-Hoto checkpoint in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region /North China/ and, having covered a distance of about 5 thousand kilometers, will arrive in Moscow.

This train carries 55 containers with 29 categories of various goods, including kaolin, car parts, washing machines, bicycles and other everyday goods.

According to deputy director of transportation company Huayuan International Land Port Co., Ltd. Wang Xingdong said that 15 regular routes have already been opened from Shanxi Province. Shanxi has already opened 15 regular international rail freight routes, linking the province with 16 countries around the world, giving impetus to the integration of Shanxi Province into the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation.