Page 42 - 2023 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
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3 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
Western sanctions, but Biden has warned Beijing middle class as evidence that China was changing
against helping Moscow’s military. China bought in fundamental ways, and for the better. China
about 20% of Russia’s crude exports in 2021 and had begun firmly nailing the Jell-O to the wall. Yet
increased that in 2022 (Mcdonald). there's little evidence that Western governments
were in a hurry to ditch their support for trade
The assumption that as China got richer, it and engagement, let alone switch to a policy of
would become freer drove decades of trade and actively curtailing China's rise. So, what changed?
engagement between Washington and Beijing. Firstly, public opinion. A Pew opinion survey in
It was the bedrock for an economic partnership late 2022 found that 80% of Americans now have
that would eventually see more than half a trillion an unfavorable opinion of China, up from just
dollars' worth of goods cross the Pacific Ocean 40% or so a decade ago. The second significant
every year. It was not so long ago that both US factor that changed things was Donald Trump.
and Chinese leaders would declare that mutual Donald Trump's anti-China message may have
enrichment would eventually outweigh ideological been characteristically erratic - with his allegations
differences and tensions between an established of unfair trade practices tempered by his open
superpower and a rising one. It's no small irony admiration of President Xi's strongman-style - but
that it is President Joe Biden who is increasingly he used it to rally a disaffected blue-collar base
treating China as an adversary. And his attempt to with great effect. China is now so important to
cut off its access to advanced semiconductors is global supply chains, and so powerful, the new
arguably the most significant reversal of the trade case being made is that the US has no choice but
and engagement approach. In the late 1990s, Mr to continue trading, for fear of harming its own
Biden, then a member of the US Senate, was a key economic interests or provoking a "backlash"
architect of the efforts to welcome China into the from Beijing (Sudworth).
World Trade Organization (WTO). "China is not our
enemy," he told reporters on a trip to Shanghai China remains the largest trading partner of
in 2000 - a statement based on the belief that the United States, and the trade has been going
increased trade would lock China into a system up despite COVID and despite the economic
of shared norms and universal values, and help decoupling in the past few years. On the one
its rise as a responsible power. WTO membership hand, the US is treating China as its largest
- which became a reality on President George geopolitical challenge and a potential adversary,
W Bush's watch - was the crowning glory of a but on the other hand, the US is also dependent
decades-old policy of growing engagement, on China for a certain number of goods, trade
supported by every president since Richard Nixon. commodities, exports and imports. These two
Corporate America too had been lobbying hard perspectives are pulling the US in two very
for China to open up further, with the likes of different directions. There’re no major domestic
British American Tobacco keen to sell to Chinese political events in 2023 like elections in the US.
consumers, and the US-China Business Council China’s 20th party Congress has also finalized the
eager for access to a cheap, compliant labor force. directions of their country for the next few years.
For a while, China's growing prosperity really This means that the bilateral relationship could
did seem to raise the prospect of at least some proceed with relatively little interference from the
limited, political reform. In the years following domestic political events. US Secretary Blinken
WTO membership, the internet - like elsewhere in visit to Beijing in January 2022 started the year
the world - gave Chinese people an opportunity with a hopefully and positive tone for opening to
for discussion and dissent previously undreamt the bilateral relations in 2023.
of. Bill Clinton famously suggested that for the
Communist Party taming the internet would be Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin
like "trying to nail Jell-O [jelly] to the wall". Even Gang said in April 2022 that China-US economic
after Mr Xi began his first term as the party's and trade relations are win-win in nature, and
general secretary in 2012, international media to restore normal trade ties between the two
coverage often focused on the skyscraper-studded countries as soon as possible is the shared
skylines, the cultural exchanges and the new aspiration of both sides. China-US agricultural
42
Western sanctions, but Biden has warned Beijing middle class as evidence that China was changing
against helping Moscow’s military. China bought in fundamental ways, and for the better. China
about 20% of Russia’s crude exports in 2021 and had begun firmly nailing the Jell-O to the wall. Yet
increased that in 2022 (Mcdonald). there's little evidence that Western governments
were in a hurry to ditch their support for trade
The assumption that as China got richer, it and engagement, let alone switch to a policy of
would become freer drove decades of trade and actively curtailing China's rise. So, what changed?
engagement between Washington and Beijing. Firstly, public opinion. A Pew opinion survey in
It was the bedrock for an economic partnership late 2022 found that 80% of Americans now have
that would eventually see more than half a trillion an unfavorable opinion of China, up from just
dollars' worth of goods cross the Pacific Ocean 40% or so a decade ago. The second significant
every year. It was not so long ago that both US factor that changed things was Donald Trump.
and Chinese leaders would declare that mutual Donald Trump's anti-China message may have
enrichment would eventually outweigh ideological been characteristically erratic - with his allegations
differences and tensions between an established of unfair trade practices tempered by his open
superpower and a rising one. It's no small irony admiration of President Xi's strongman-style - but
that it is President Joe Biden who is increasingly he used it to rally a disaffected blue-collar base
treating China as an adversary. And his attempt to with great effect. China is now so important to
cut off its access to advanced semiconductors is global supply chains, and so powerful, the new
arguably the most significant reversal of the trade case being made is that the US has no choice but
and engagement approach. In the late 1990s, Mr to continue trading, for fear of harming its own
Biden, then a member of the US Senate, was a key economic interests or provoking a "backlash"
architect of the efforts to welcome China into the from Beijing (Sudworth).
World Trade Organization (WTO). "China is not our
enemy," he told reporters on a trip to Shanghai China remains the largest trading partner of
in 2000 - a statement based on the belief that the United States, and the trade has been going
increased trade would lock China into a system up despite COVID and despite the economic
of shared norms and universal values, and help decoupling in the past few years. On the one
its rise as a responsible power. WTO membership hand, the US is treating China as its largest
- which became a reality on President George geopolitical challenge and a potential adversary,
W Bush's watch - was the crowning glory of a but on the other hand, the US is also dependent
decades-old policy of growing engagement, on China for a certain number of goods, trade
supported by every president since Richard Nixon. commodities, exports and imports. These two
Corporate America too had been lobbying hard perspectives are pulling the US in two very
for China to open up further, with the likes of different directions. There’re no major domestic
British American Tobacco keen to sell to Chinese political events in 2023 like elections in the US.
consumers, and the US-China Business Council China’s 20th party Congress has also finalized the
eager for access to a cheap, compliant labor force. directions of their country for the next few years.
For a while, China's growing prosperity really This means that the bilateral relationship could
did seem to raise the prospect of at least some proceed with relatively little interference from the
limited, political reform. In the years following domestic political events. US Secretary Blinken
WTO membership, the internet - like elsewhere in visit to Beijing in January 2022 started the year
the world - gave Chinese people an opportunity with a hopefully and positive tone for opening to
for discussion and dissent previously undreamt the bilateral relations in 2023.
of. Bill Clinton famously suggested that for the
Communist Party taming the internet would be Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin
like "trying to nail Jell-O [jelly] to the wall". Even Gang said in April 2022 that China-US economic
after Mr Xi began his first term as the party's and trade relations are win-win in nature, and
general secretary in 2012, international media to restore normal trade ties between the two
coverage often focused on the skyscraper-studded countries as soon as possible is the shared
skylines, the cultural exchanges and the new aspiration of both sides. China-US agricultural
42
