专家们对中国外交的看法 - 2023-12-25
Editor's note: As the world is undergoing momentous changes of a scale unseen in a century, China's diplomatic work has focused on building a community with a shared future for mankind and conducted major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in an all-round way, making new contributions to upholding world peace. Three experts share their views with China Daily.
Sino-US ties vital to global development
The world stands at a pivotal juncture as 2023 draws to a close. For much of the world, 2023 marked a return to "normalcy" of some sort after the three horrid years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the United States, for example, the official inflation rate peaked at a record 9.1 percent in June 2022, gradually subsiding to 3.2 percent by October 2023. The US economy grew by 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2023, beating all expectations.
As for China, the much anticipated post-pandemic economic upswing has not been as strong as expected.
For the past few years, commentators have been talking about disengagement between the US and China, especially after the former Donald Trump administration launched the tariff war against China and some other countries.
Although the challenges between the US and China have intensified due to disruptions in the global industry and supply chains, and international trade, as well as regional conflicts, Sino-US trade has remained quite resilient, because Chinese products still appeal to US consumers, and China maintains its role as a stable hub for low-cost industrial manufacturing, serving the needs of the US, European countries and China itself.
According to the US Trade Representative, the estimated China-US trade volume for 2022 was $758.4 billion, with US goods exports to China in 2022 increasing by 1.7 percent ($2.6 billion) year-on-year and an impressive 39 percent from 2012. Thus it is fair to say that the concept of "decoupling," has never been an option for the two sides due to their close economic ties, and the strategic value that each attaches to the other.
In the face of multifaceted challenges, the key opportunity for both China and the US lies in strengthening their unparalleled economic partnership. As is true for other foreign enterprises, US businesses are seeking greater access to the Chinese market, which has a stable economic and political environment, safeguards intellectual property rights and has built a fair and just business environment, which can instill confidence in foreign brands to invest in cost-effective, high-tech manufacturing, and benefit from China's vast consumer market.
Recent changes such as revisions to the Foreign Investment Law, better investment opportunities for overseas entities, and improved visa policies for foreigners, have made investment in the Chinese market an even more attractive proposition.
The need for China is to maintain the equilibrium between low-cost manufacturing and high-tech production. Rising labor costs no longer make China the automatic choice for low-cost manufacturing, necessitating China's shift toward higher-value, high-tech industries. The successful navigation of this transition will enable China to retain its prominent place in global manufacturing, offer better-paying jobs to its citizens, and export critical goods to the US and other countries.
The two countries also need to work together on areas of common interest, including the lifting of tariffs, and promoting the green economy and cooperation in the healthcare sector. Striking the right balance requires a practical approach from both sides that fosters economic ties.
In this regard, experts and commentators, in general, agree that the US' decision to reduce China's access to integrated circuits (IC), ostensibly for national security reasons, has prompted China to build its own IC industry. In the short term, US companies will lose profits, and supply chain issues will emerge impacting some US businesses and consumers. And in the long run, it will help China become more self-reliant, which will result in the US losing its advantage in IC technology.
During the history of trade between China and the US, there have been a string of ups and downs, standoffs and reconciliations. Despite all this, the two countries are still critical business and strategic partners, confirming the enduring importance and resilience of their relationship. As such, it is incumbent on our leaders and the business communities to encourage growth and navigate the challenges of the constantly evolving global landscape.
It is imperative therefore that the two countries work toward solutions that will promote growth through enhanced cooperation that will benefit everyone.
The author is Edward Lehman, chairman of LehmanBush.
Brussels should 'de-ideologize' its approach
As the recent 24th China-EU Summit seems to have made headway in helping bring the two sides' comprehensive strategic partnership back on track, I am cautiously upbeat about the development of one of the world's most important political and economic relationships in 2024.
However, I am also more convinced than ever before that the European Union needs to "de-ideologize" its relationship with Beijing by, for instance, throwing its emphasis on "de-risking" and "systemic rivalry" rhetoric overboard, and returning to pragmatic realism, that is, dealing with China-EU matters in a sensible, practical and mutually beneficial manner.
Brussels should accept the fait accompli that China's political system is different to the one in the EU and that it would be foolhardy trying to foist the West's "values" on China, the world's oldest extant body politic.
What matters most is that the relationship between the two economic and trade giants benefits their 1.86 billion people, or 22 percent of the world's population. Besides, pragmatic China-EU ties are also advantageous to our troubled planet's development as a whole.
I hope European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel will periodically subject themselves to a reality check as far as China-EU relations are concerned.
Von der Leyen's term expires next year, but she still hasn't revealed whether she will put herself forward for a second five-year term after the European Parliament election next June or, as some analysts say, is angling for the post of NATO secretary-general instead. Michel's second and final two-and-a-half-year term ends in November 2024. It remains to be seen what the possible (Von der Leyen) and certain (Michel) exit from the top of the EU will mean for the future of China-EU ties.
Brussels says the EU's trade deficit with China amounts to about $430 billion. While some 9 percent of EU exports last year were shipped to China, the latter accounted for about 21 percent of its imports. In 2022, China was the EU's third-largest export market (after the United States and the United Kingdom) and its top source of imports.
Mutually beneficial political, commercial and economic relations between Brussels and Beijing are, no doubt, advantageous to China's two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macao.
The EU is Macao's second-biggest source of imports, after the Chinese mainland. As such, Macao is doing its part, based on the comparatively small size of its import-export sector, to help the EU ship its products overseas.
Having formal links with the EU, Macao signed a trade and cooperation agreement in 1992 with the then European Economic Community, which was succeeded by the EU a year later. Irrespective of the name change, the deal remains in force. Based on the agreement, Macao also maintains an economic and trade office in Brussels. Hong Kong, however, doesn't have a similar pact with Brussels.
Also, the Institute of European Studies of Macao is holding master's degree courses in cooperation with the University of Macau. Since its launch nearly three decades ago, it has fostered closer ties between Macao and the EU, and strengthened local students' knowledge of European affairs and languages.
I expect Macao to remain committed to performing its historic role as a centuries-old hub of commercial and cultural exchanges between China and Europe — free of ideological constraints.
The author is Harald Brüning, the director of the Macau Post Daily.
A year of good outcomes for China's diplomacy
The end of the COVID-19 pandemic as a global health emergency gave rise to both hope and anxieties. Although there was hope because things started returning to normal and there was anxiety due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has been dragging on since February 2022, and the breaking out of the Israel-Palestine conflict on Oct 7.
However, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, in fact the Global South as a whole is looking forward to building upon peace and development to chart a better future.
For China, too, the end of the pandemic brought both challenges and opportunities. US-China relations, for example, are yet to normalize while the Chinese economy faces strong headwinds.
On the other hand, the international community wants China to play an even bigger role in re-energizing the global economy, helping boost the economies of the Global South and build a more stable world order, and tackle global challenges such as climate change.
Did China succeed in overcoming the challenges and capitalizing on the opportunities?
After failing to contain China's technological development, the United States is now likely to meet China half way in addressing the issues it sees as impacting bilateral relations.
Also, the US appears to recognize that it is both unjust and impossible to check China's peaceful rise. To be precise, the Chinese people are entitled to a higher living standard and China has the right to become a truly modern economy and society, and the US cannot stop them from realizing their goals.
With bilateral ties normalizing to a certain extent, the two countries' leaders had a summit alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in San Francisco in November, one full year since they last met in Bali on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. The long gap in the meetings shows the extent to which bilateral ties have deteriorated since the US changed its China policy during the Donald Trump administration.
Yet many view the San Francisco meeting as a sign of the US adopting a more realistic stance — of accepting and acknowledging China's rise. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan later published an article that seems to indicate such a "realistic turn" in the US' stance.
If indeed the US is more ready to acknowledge China's goal of becoming a truly modernized country enjoying growing global influence, it is partly the outcome of China's sustained efforts to push back against the US' bullying tactics.
The San Francisco meeting, however, shows that by demanding fair and equitable treatment, China has prompted the US to change its China policy for the better, however slightly. The dynamics of the Sino-US relationship appear to have taken a new shape, thanks to China's hard and skillful fight-back against US bullying.
China has performed quite well on other fronts, though. It brokered a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with the two countries reestablishing diplomatic ties after seven years. Deservedly, China was widely praised for its role in what is regarded as a major development in international relations.
At the initiative of China, the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg saw the formal expansion of the bloc, with the inclusion of Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the possible realization of BRICS currency.
Other multilateral forums including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the UN Climate Change Conference also saw positive results with China playing a key role in the developments.
As it celebrates its 10th anniversary, the Belt and Road Initiative rolled out a new range of proposals to, among other things, achieve common prosperity, transform the energy structure and promote new technology.
Yet China needs to make visa-free travel arrangements with more countries and take measures to make hotels, catering services and other facilities in the country much more "foreigner-friendly". For example, measures should be taken to ensure people visiting China can easily install Alipay and/or WeChat at the airports they land at, so they can enjoy a hassle-free stay in China.
Outbound travel, too, should be promoted by, for instance, making it easier for people to travel abroad.
Fortunately, China is trying to promote friendly ties with countries in its neighborhood including Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, countries that a majority of Chinese people have not visited despite the geographical proximity and low travel cost, which will facilitate overseas travel.
The author is Wang Zhengxu, a professor of politics and international relations at the School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University.
Source: China Daily
