Political reform holds the key to our growth
Published: 16 Dec. 2024, 19:54
YOU SANG-CHUL
The author is the head of the China Institute of the JoongAng Ilbo and CEO of China Lab.
Interim Chinese Ambassador to Korea Fang Kun did not read the congratulatory speech prepared for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Korea-China Press Forum on Dec. 2. Instead, he explained the visa-free entry measures implemented by China.
He said that in his opinion, this is China’s unilateral will to open to the outside world. That’s true. China started implementing the visa-free policy in December last year and has expanded it to 38 countries, including Korea.
The effect is immediate. The number of foreigners entering China in the third quarter reached 8.2 million, an increase of nearly 50 percent on year. China also announced that it will apply tariff-free preferential tax rates to 100 percent of tariff items in underdeveloped countries that have established diplomatic relations with China from Dec. 1. All of these are unilateral measures, not based on reciprocity. Some say that it is an open China. On the other hand, the United States seems to be going in the opposite direction.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to impose a 20 percent universal tariff on all imports from foreign countries and a 60 percent high tariff on China. On Dec. 8, he also made a shocking statement that the United States may withdraw from NATO. It is interpreted that nothing but America’s interests will be considered, no matter what happens to the international economy or global security. America is going back to isolationism.
Then, is China really open and America isolated? They may seem so on the surface, but China experts say the reality is different. Trump’s America First policy is not to part with the world but to lead international order more stubbornly. Instead of going back to the isolationism of the past, his calculation is to modify the international order to better cater to America’s interests.
Trump wants to achieve trade balance with reciprocal trade and tariff bombs rather than free trade. Meanwhile, experts raise questions on whether China’s opening truly means opening. How can you explain China advocating free trade but arresting foreign managers as spies in the name of security? China is eager to attract foreign investment at the moment. But the reality in China is that economic demands can always be sacrificed according to political needs.
The West argues that China won’t be able to achieve further economic growth without political reform. But it makes Korea embarrassed, as it seems to apply more to Korea than China. Without reforming the extremely backward politics, further economic development seems unlikely for Korea.
The author is the head of the China Institute of the JoongAng Ilbo and CEO of China Lab.
Interim Chinese Ambassador to Korea Fang Kun did not read the congratulatory speech prepared for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Korea-China Press Forum on Dec. 2. Instead, he explained the visa-free entry measures implemented by China.
He said that in his opinion, this is China’s unilateral will to open to the outside world. That’s true. China started implementing the visa-free policy in December last year and has expanded it to 38 countries, including Korea.
The effect is immediate. The number of foreigners entering China in the third quarter reached 8.2 million, an increase of nearly 50 percent on year. China also announced that it will apply tariff-free preferential tax rates to 100 percent of tariff items in underdeveloped countries that have established diplomatic relations with China from Dec. 1. All of these are unilateral measures, not based on reciprocity. Some say that it is an open China. On the other hand, the United States seems to be going in the opposite direction.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to impose a 20 percent universal tariff on all imports from foreign countries and a 60 percent high tariff on China. On Dec. 8, he also made a shocking statement that the United States may withdraw from NATO. It is interpreted that nothing but America’s interests will be considered, no matter what happens to the international economy or global security. America is going back to isolationism.
Then, is China really open and America isolated? They may seem so on the surface, but China experts say the reality is different. Trump’s America First policy is not to part with the world but to lead international order more stubbornly. Instead of going back to the isolationism of the past, his calculation is to modify the international order to better cater to America’s interests.
Trump wants to achieve trade balance with reciprocal trade and tariff bombs rather than free trade. Meanwhile, experts raise questions on whether China’s opening truly means opening. How can you explain China advocating free trade but arresting foreign managers as spies in the name of security? China is eager to attract foreign investment at the moment. But the reality in China is that economic demands can always be sacrificed according to political needs.
The West argues that China won’t be able to achieve further economic growth without political reform. But it makes Korea embarrassed, as it seems to apply more to Korea than China. Without reforming the extremely backward politics, further economic development seems unlikely for Korea.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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