China’s economic rise is unstoppable – the US should explore a partnership instead

Name: China looks to boost its middle class as it wraps up Xi Jinping’s anti-poverty drive
Uploaded: 2020-12-06T17:15:06.000Z
Duration: 2 min 47 s
Description: China looks to boost its middle class as it wraps up Xi Jinping’s anti-poverty drive

China is advancing as an economic power no matter what the US throws at it. This demands a response of acceptance and partnership rather than destructive opposition

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Two people look out at the skyline of the Central Business District in Beijing, on April 16. China is moving firmly and clearly ahead of its rivals, according to the latest OECD economic outlook. Photo: Reuters

Anthony Rowley

Published: 1:15am, 7 Dec 2020Updated: 1:18am, 7 Dec 2020

If you are an Olympic running champion and you glance over your shoulder to see a rival gaining on and threatening to overtake you, what do you do – put on an extra spurt to show you are still the best, acknowledge your worthy opponent, or try to hobble him so he falls behind?

For America, President Donald Trump chose the last option, launching trade wars, investment restraints and financial sanctions against China, a competitor nation breathing down its neck.

It is easy to see why any Oval Office inhabitant should feel uneasy. China is moving firmly and clearly ahead of its rivals, according to the latest Economic Outlook by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Alone among the major OECD economies, China’s growth is shown in a chart as a striking green bar, denoting expected economic expansion in 2020, while others show up as multiple red bars, denoting expected contraction – a graphic illustration that makes the point vividly.

The OECD suggests that China will record economic growth of 1.8 per cent this year, 8 per cent next year, then 4.9 per cent in 2022. In contrast, the United States will suffer a contraction of 3.7 per cent this year, before growing by 3.2 per cent in 2021 and 3.5 per cent in 2022. China’s Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index has, meanwhile, surged to a 10-year high on improved demand.

02:47

China looks to boost its middle class as it wraps up Xi Jinping’s anti-poverty drive

The report also highlighted China’s success in controlling the Covid-19 outbreak and its subsequent rising output and exports, while those elsewhere languish. Trump’s response has been defensive and aggressive, and the key question is whether this will continue under Joe Biden.