China urges OECD to avoid politicizing research after criticisms on industrial subsidies

China urged the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on Thursday to pursue research in an objective manner and avoid politicizing or instrumentalizing reports in a way that harms its own credibility, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The Paris-based organization released a report on Monday claiming that Chinese companies receive the largest amount of government subsidies globally.

A ministry spokesperson said subsidies are a common policy tool used by economies worldwide, including OECD member nations.

"China is willing to actively participate in international discussions on industrial subsidy rules," said the commerce official in a statement. "However, we believe the OECD report lacks rigorous conceptual definitions, has biased sample selections, and draws one-sided and arbitrary conclusions."

The spokesperson argued that the "subsidies" identified in the report are not based on a unified measurement standard or statistical methodology, straying from the multilateral consensus within the World Trade Organization framework.

The Ministry of Commerce specifically rejected the report's narrative that the rise in global market share of Chinese companies is solely attributed to government support.

The report completely overlooks their genuine core strengths in areas such as economies of scale, production efficiency and technological iteration, the spokesperson added.