China: U.S. criticism of export credit practices ‘groundless and unreasonable’

China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday disputed U.S. Export-Import Bank President Kimberly Reed’s claims that Beijing’s export financing practices undermine fair and free market competition. Since being reauthorized in December, the Ex-Im Bank has aggressively worked to counter China’s export credit regimes, in part by launching a congressionally-mandated “Program on China and Transformational Exports.” The program requires that the bank budget at least 20 percent of its lending authority to help boost U.S. competitiveness against China in high-tech sectors. In an...