Why China is Falling Out with the Global South

In the last year or so, "overcapacity" has become a new term in the US-China trade war, leading to straining relations between China and parts of the Global South. In this video, we're going to explain what overcapacity is and why it's such a hot topic in geopolitics.

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00:00 - Introduction
01:55 - China's "Overcapacity"
04:31 - Why the Global South are Grumpy
07:38 - Sponsored Content

[TLDRnewsGLOBAL]

Regular viewers might notice that we did a video with a very similar title a few months ago. We changed the title on that video after commenters rightly pointed out that the video was 95% focused on China's new economic reforms, rather than the Global South's reaction, but we still thought the topic was worth revisiting because, in the past few weeks, 2 things have happened. First, "overcapacity" has become an increasing hot topic in global politics; and second, we've seen a slew of trade barriers erected by various Global South countries, which we detail in the video.

Anyway, we hope the video better reflects the title/thumb this time around, and thank you for watching.

[The-Chair]

The fact that Australia and New Zealand are part of the “Global North” cracks me up

[stefandebeer]

In South Africa we've just added a 45% import tax on Shein and Temu purchases under R500(~$27) to protect local clothing manufactures and retailers.😂

[phoebus]

For country that has a long history of isolationism, it's ironic that they cater to the international market as opposed to domestic.

[kurarisu_]

5:26
Brazil didn't raise taxes for china imports. It raised taxes for imports across the board, period. From every single country, including China obviously.

[natedcarr]

World: What kind of things can you manufacture?
China: Yes.

[everyplaceisunique]

Mexico joining the anti-dumping group is a god send for the US.

[lazuritedavos]

The most ironic thing ive ever seen was the YT ad for this video was Temu 😂😂😂

[HowellGuce]

“Take a shot for every time the word overcapacity is mentioned”

[ManCatCheese]

Here in Australia we love the influx of Chinese EVs that are forcing other manufacturers to you know… compete. Prices are falling fast and people are realising just how massive the margins on EVs have been given the $15k price cuts on some models.

We don’t have a domestic car manufacturer so it’s no skin off our backs

[FiFiFilth]

Funny to see Ursula von der Leyen talking about this, when in fact Germany did this to the EU for almost two decades now, destroying the economies of many souther european countries. Also keeping labor costs as low as possible to keep outcompeting other EU states. So no one in Germany benefitted from it except large multinational corporations.

[agentmonde]

Even South Africa is placing a steep 45% import tax

[MOMOCHU]

From July 1st, South Africa will tax all products from shein and temu at the same rates as local operators

[chrisa]

Even the most staunch capitalists and free marketeers call for restrictions and tariffs when it hurts their own pockets

[pabloandresmalverdesahd]

Claiming that Chinese workers are not paid enough as to consume more import goods is a fallacy. That could have been true 20 or 30 years ago, but the purchasing power of Chinese consumers has increased significantly over the last few years. A proof of that is the fact that China is the biggest market for hi-end brands like Apple, accounting for their 30% total revenues (let's agree that Apple products are not precisely cheap, but curiously Chinese consumers can afford them), it is becoming an increasing and interesting market for luxury goods, including super luxury sport cars, luxury apparel, and other goods, and it is the main market every foreign producer wants to sell to. The so claimed "overcapacity" of China is due to the fact that it is a 1.4 billion people country that has well invested in educating its population and has taken them out of extreme poverty through an unparalleled industrialization process, largely supported by Western companies that moved their production facilities there due to the investor-friendly environment the Chinese government created to attract foreign investment and the low-cost labor force (at that time, not now). Today, China has not only became a producer of practically all kinds of manufactured goods you can imagine, but it is also extremely efficient in its supply chains and logistic processes, and that's why it has maintained its leading position as to top 1 manufacturer in the world. In simple words, they have the capacity to produce more than the world can demand due to their efficiencies, and they buy less from foreign countries basically because the other countries altogether have no enough capacity to produce what China demands, due to their inefficiencies. China alone produced 30 million cars in 2023, more than what the US, Japan, India, and South Korea -- the next 4 main world car producers in 2023 -- produced altogether that same year. The US, the second largest car producer in the world, only produced 10 million cars, one third of what China is capable of producing. And that production not only include Chinese brands, but also European, Japanese, Korean, and even American brands that produce some of their models in China. Why? Because China is more efficient and can achieve lower production times with lower costs without comprising their manufacturing standards.

[lordmashie]

Hehe, Beijing complaining about protectionism, that's funny.

[joem]

In Thailand i see no sign of avoidance or rejection of Chinese goods or tourists.

[TheEmolano]

The sad part about Brazil is that a large amount of our domestic industry has already went bankrupt so those high taxes will only protect retail corporations. Also, domestic goods are so heavily taxed that even without Chinese cheap goods most new companies can't have a profit.

[nicolasbenson]

In light of the ongoing global economic crisis, it is crucial for everyone to prioritize investing in diverse sources of income that are not reliant on the government. This includes exploring opportunities in stocks, gold, silver, and digital currencies. Despite the challenging economic situation, it remains a favorable time to consider these investments.

[flotsamike]

So weird to hear turkey called the global South since Istanbul is just as far north as New York.