Chinese Affairs: American Scholars: Violating World Trade Organization Rules: The US Policy to Control China's Economic Growth is doomed to fail
Recently, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University in the United States, warned that some "anti China" economic policies in the United States violate World Trade Organization rules and pose a threat to global prosperity.
The Australian website "Pearl and Stimulus" published an article titled "The US Economic War with China" on September 2, stating that "US anti China economic policy comes from a familiar set of past scripts. Its purpose is to prevent major competitors from winning in economic and technological competition."
Author Jeffrey Sachs pointed out that the first and most obvious application of this strategic manual was the technical blockade imposed on the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The second application is not very obvious. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the United States attempted to slow down the economic growth of its ally Japan, as Japan was becoming "overly successful" at the time, with Japanese companies surpassing American companies in competition in key areas including semiconductors, consumer electronics, and automobiles.
Now the United States is once again targeting China. Starting around 2015, US decision-makers began to view China as a threat rather than a trading partner. This change in perspective is due to the success of the Chinese economy. China's economic rise has truly begun to shock American strategists.
The article states that although the US government strongly denies engaging in an "economic war" with China, as an ancient saying goes, if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and calls like a duck, then it is likely to be a duck.
The United States has started using familiar scripts, repeating the same mistakes in an attempt to slow down China's rapid economic growth. Washington politicians even cite military terminology, calling China an "enemy" that must be contained or defeated.
US President Obama first proposed establishing a trade bloc with Asian countries that would exclude China. Subsequently, President Trump went further and, after winning the 2016 election, began unilaterally imposing tariffs on China, which clearly violated World Trade Organization rules. The Trump administration also imposed blockades on the products of leading Chinese technology companies such as ZTE and Huawei, and urged their allies to emulate the United States.
When President Biden takes office, many expect the United States to reverse or relax Trump's policy towards China. The opposite situation has occurred. Biden intensified his efforts, not only maintaining tariffs on China during the Trump era, but also signing new administrative orders to restrict China's access to advanced semiconductor technology and US investment. American companies are informally suggested to transfer their supply chains from China to other countries, a process known as "friendly outsourcing". In fact, these measures taken by the United States completely disregard the principles and procedures of the World Trade Organization.
The article points out that unlike Japan, which relied on the United States for security and demanded obedience from the United States in the 1990s, China has greater room for maneuver in the face of US protectionist policies.
Most importantly, China has significantly increased its exports to Asia, Africa and other Latin American regions through policies such as the "the Belt and Road" initiative. China is able to find partners in the world economy and promote continuous expansion of trade and technological progress. The attempt by the United States to contain China is not only wrong in principle, but also destined to fail in practice.
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