American media and experts continue to pay attention to my white paper on ＂economic and trade frictions＂
The press office in the State Council, China recently released a white paper "Facts about Sino-US Economic and Trade Friction and China’s Position", which comprehensively and systematically combed Sino-US economic and trade relations, clarified China’s policy stance, and pointed out that the essence of Sino-US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win, and what the US government has done is trade protectionism and trade bullying. In the past few days, the white paper has received continuous attention from American media and experts. American media and experts are also questioning and criticizing the US government’s trade policy.
The escalation of the trade war is detrimental to the global economy.
The white paper provides a basis for all walks of life in the United States to fully understand Sino-US economic and trade relations and accurately grasp China’s policy stance. Major American media such as Washington post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, Bloomberg, and the NBC Financial Channel published relevant reports at the first time, and quoted their contents in great length.
NBC’s Financial Channel reported that the white paper showed China’s official position in dealing with Sino-US economic and trade relations. The report quoted experts as saying that China stressed that only after being attacked would it take countermeasures. The Wall Street Journal report stressed that the white paper "Facts about Sino-US Economic and Trade Friction and China’s Position" deserves attention.
Washington post pointed out that the white paper used a large number of tables and cases, cited the research of u.s.-china business council, Washington think tank, Goldman Sachs and other parties, and took companies such as General Motors, Intel and Apple as examples to illustrate that the US-China economic and trade cooperation is a win-win relationship and beneficial to the United States. The Bloomberg report mainly quoted the contents in the white paper, such as "the door to China negotiations has been open" and "negotiations cannot be conducted under the threat of tariff sticks". According to the report, if the US government insists on escalating the conflict, this trade dispute may develop into a war of attrition, and economists have warned that the escalation of the trade war will harm the global economy.
After the US government imposed tariffs on China’s goods again, the voice of doubt and criticism in the United States rose obviously. CNN reported that American consumers are likely to find that all kinds of consumer goods, from shampoo to dog food to electrical appliances, will increase in price this fall. Wal-Mart said that the tariff measures will lead it to raise the price of goods. Target, another retail giant, said that working families will pay higher prices for all kinds of school supplies, such as notebooks, calculators and staplers. Fitch Ratings, a rating agency, recently lowered its forecast for global economic growth in 2019 by 0.1 percentage point due to concerns about the protectionist policies of the United States.
The cooperation with China partners is completely mutually beneficial and win-win.
Sino-US economic and trade exchanges are large in scale, rich in connotation, wide in coverage and diverse in subjects, and it is inevitable that some contradictions and differences will arise. The two countries should properly handle their differences by seeking common ground while reserving differences. The white paper points out that the imbalance of trade in goods between China and the United States is more a natural result of independent market choice under the structure of American economy and existing comparative advantage.
Stephen Roach, a senior researcher at Yale University and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, told this reporter that the trade imbalance between the United States and China does exist, but the reason is the structural contradiction of the United States’ own macro-economy. The United States has a trade deficit with 102 countries in the world. The trade deficit is essentially a multilateral issue and cannot be solved through bilateral channels. Imposing tariffs on China will only shift the US trade deficit with China to other countries with higher costs, which will bring more pressure to American consumers.
Donald Boudreau, a professor of economics at George Mei Sen University in the United States, believes that the so-called "US-China trade deficit means that the United States suffers" is a manifestation of complete ignorance of economics. He pointed out that in today’s globalization, absolutely balanced trade cannot be pursued unilaterally.
On issues such as intellectual property protection and China’s industrial policy, the white paper also responded and clarified the unwarranted accusations of the US. In fact, more and more Americans have voiced their opinions on these issues recently, arguing that the US government’s statement lacks factual basis, and it is not only useless but also dangerous to formulate policies based on this.
American Weeding Equipment Company is a small family business located in Indiana with a history of more than 120 years. President Ke Shanglong participated in the "301 investigation" hearing three times and opposed the increase of tariffs. He told this reporter that the cooperation with China’s partners is completely mutually beneficial and win-win, and there has never been a compulsory request for technology transfer.
Stephen Roach said, "I once established the first investment bank in China, namely China International Capital Corporation, on behalf of Morgan Stanley and China Construction Bank. In the 15 years of cooperation, I have never been forced to transfer anything. " He said that American enterprises and China partners voluntarily signed legally binding agreements based on the judgment of commercial interests, established joint ventures and shared manpower, systems and processes.
Adam Persson, director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said that China enterprises have the right to make progress in any field, including high-tech fields, and so does the United States. China hopes to make great progress in some technical fields and should not be regarded as a threat to the United States.
The United States and China should expand cooperation in the field of consensus.
The white paper emphasizes that Sino-US economic and trade relations are related to the well-being of the two peoples and to world peace, prosperity and stability. For China and the United States, cooperation is the only correct choice, and a win-win situation can lead to a better future.
It is exactly what many American experts and scholars call for to solve Sino-US trade friction through mutual respect and equal negotiation. At a think tank event held not long ago, former US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lu publicly stated that constructive dialogue is still the best path for the United States and China. The United States and China should expand cooperation in areas of consensus and narrow their differences.
Huang Yuchuan, a senior researcher at the Carnegie Foundation, a Washington think tank, published a commentary in The New York Times, pointing out that it is a better choice for the United States and China to resolve trade disputes through the WTO. He emphasized in particular that China has a good record in implementing WTO rulings, but on the contrary, a series of practices of the United States have obviously violated WTO rules, thus bringing erosion to the organization. David Lake, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, and Jessica Weiss, an associate professor at Cornell University, jointly published an article in Washington post, pointing out that the WTO has clear rules on the settlement of trade disputes and can be an effective platform for solving trade problems between the United States and China.
(Our correspondent in the United States, Hu Zexi, Wu Lejun, Washington, October 4 th)