Working with China is more beneficial than fighting it
Ken Moak <http://www.atimes.com/author/ken-moak/>ByKEN MOAK
<http://www.atimes.com/author/ken-moak/>DECEMBER 25, 2018 1:35 AM (UTC+8)
http://www.atimes.com/working-with-china-is-more-beneficial-than-fighting-it/
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It appears the political and security elites in the United States are
preparing for an OK Corral-type showdown with China. On December 1, the
US Justice Department asked (some would argue pressured) Canada to
arrest Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese
telecommunications giant Huawei, on a provisional warrant. It went on to
charge two Chinese government employees with stealing information from
firms and governments in 12 countries.
The big question is: Why now and what does the US hope to gain from
these provocations?
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*China’s economic, technological and military rise*
A brief look at China’s accomplishments in the economic, technological
and military realms might shed light on the question.
The size of China’s economy is estimated at US$13.7 trillion in nominal
exchange rate measurement and it met the targeted growth rate of 6.5%
in 2018, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (CNBS).
China’s growth rate is far greater than that of the US, estimated at
around 3% by the US National of Statistics. If the trend continues, the
Chinese economy could well topple that of the US, becoming the biggest
economy in both measures.
The remarkable annual average growth rate of nearly 9% has allowed the
country to spend lavishly on research and development and higher
education, estimated at over US$260 billion and US$175 billion,
respectively, in 2017 by the CNBS. A big chunk of higher education
spending was on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
As a result, China produces over 6 million STEM graduates each year and
a similar number worked in research. These millions of STEMs are the
country’s best and brightest scientific and engineering minds.
This might be a more compelling explanation of why the country is fast
closing the innovation gap with and even surpassing the US in some areas
– 5G, AI, driverless cars, high-speed railway, etc – than China stealing
American secrets.
Huawei is at the forefront of 5G technology and the biggest (and some
would suggest the best) telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the
world. According to the company’s press release, almost 170 countries
are using its equipment. Huawei is also the world’s second-largest
smartphone producer, surpassing Apple but behind South Korea’s Samsung.
Other than the US, Australia and New Zealand, no country has accused
Huawei of being a “spy” for the Chinese government. Indeed, France
and Germany welcome the company’s investment
Other than the US, Australia and New Zealand, no country has accused
Huawei of being a “spy” for the Chinese government. Indeed, France and
Germany welcome the company’s investment.
It is probably the fear that Huawei might displace Apple that the US
barred the company’s products from entering its market and asked Canada
to arrest its chief financial officer. According to Jeffery Sachs, a
Columbia University professor and Washington Post columnist, Meng
Wanzhou’s arrest might have been politically motivated, contrary to what
both the US and Canada have claimed. This allegation was supported by
Trump himself when said he would intervene if China would not give him
the “deal” he wants.
While China is not interested in getting into an arms race with America,
it is spending heavily on developing new weapons systems to ensure it
has a credible deterrent. The latest is the JL3, a submarine missile
that can carry 10 nuclear bombs with a range of over 7,500 kilometers.
Together with its DF21, DF26, DF31 and DF41, China has achieved that
credible deterrent capability.
*America’s ruling elite upset and frustrated*
The US political, security and intelligence communities are upset with
China because it is able to challenge American supremacy but cannot do
anything about it short of a nuclear attack.
It was not supposed to be that way. The US did not expect China to
transform itself from an impoverished and backward country into a
superpower within four decades. Based on Soviet economic performance,
the West and Japan, in fact, laughed at Deng Xiaoping’s “Socialism with
Chinese Characteristics,” dubbed “state-capitalism.” Indeed, they
cheered for India.
However, the West, the US in particular, and Japan are shocked because
China has done so well. According to the World Bank, China’s economy was
just a little over US$250 billion in 1978, the year Deng opened the
country up and established economic reforms, turning away from dogmatic
central planning to a market economy with Chinese characteristics.
Since then, China’s economy has grown enormously, reaching nearly
US$13.7 trillion in 2018. Along the way, the government managed to lift
between 750 and 800 million people out of poverty, build the largest and
most sophisticated high-speed train system in the world, and establish a
formidable space program, just to name a few accomplishments.
In a span of 40 years, China has managed to become a near-peer power of
the US, economically, technologically and militarily, and therein lies
the frustration: having China as an equal is unthinkable but stopping
her is unimaginably costly.
*Is Beijing as “evil” as the US **says?*
It could be argued that the “communist” government might be more
responsible and caring than any in the West, including the US.
According to the World Bank and other supranational institutions, the
Chinese government has lifted 800 million people out of poverty and
elevated over 400 million to middle-class status within 40 years. In
doing so, it has erased considerable human misery and lived up to its
stated aim of “serving the people.”
Putting economic development at the forefront has not only benefited
China, but also the world. Since the 2008 financial crisis caused by the
US, China has contributed to a third of global economic growth by buying
huge quantities of resources and other goods and services around the
world. Indeed, the Australian China hawk Tony Abbott even admitted that
it was China that made his country the “lucky continent.”
Because of huge industrial and infrastructural investment from China,
many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia are beginning to
develop more rapidly.
What did the “holier than thou” US do to improve the lives of its poor
and middle class?
*A final comment*
Demonizing China with “fake news” would only make the world a more
dangerous and miserable place. US provocations in the South China Sea in
the name of “freedom of navigation operations” could lead to a military
clash, risking American, Chinese and other people’s lives.
As the UK’s last colonial governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, painfully
discovered, China is too big to be bullied. The US and its allies should
do the right thing for their countries: work with China to make this
world a better place.
There is nothing to be gained from conflict. Spending more money on
defense translates to less money for improving people’s lives.
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