ExclusiveChina eyes ‘diversified’ relations as US becomes increasingly hostile, Beijing economic adviser says
- Cai Fang is a vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and an academic adviser to the Chinese Economist 50 Forum
- The US-China trade war, the US entity list and the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak have accelerated the decoupling of the world’s two largest economies
China will seek “more diversified” external relations during a period when “globalisation is at a low ebb” to be able to thrive in a world where the United States is becoming increasingly hostile, according to a senior adviser to the Chinese leadership.
Maintaining China’s place in the global supply chain will be a key theme for Beijing after the coronavirus, especially since Washington is becoming more aggressive in containing China’s rise, Cai Fang, a vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a major state-funded think tank, told the South China Morning Post.
“There are many things we can do … we need to talk with the Americans while we struggle against them,” Cai said on Wednesday. “And we should not put all our eggs in one basket.
“We’ll seek more diversified international cooperation and industrial supply chains. The faster the US seeks decoupling, the quicker China will embrace the trend.”
The US will contain China’s rise … it’s something that China can’t change. The strong motive to contain China will continue into future administrations
Cai is an expert in Chinese labour economics and one of the top architects of China’s economic policies. He is an academic adviser to the Chinese Economist 50 Forum, a pro-reform think tank co-founded by Vice-Premier Liu He, the top economic aide to President Xi Jinping.
Xi said over the weekend that the domestic market “will play a dominant role” for China going forward, signalling a shift from an export-led growth model to a new one that relies more on the domestic market.
“Xi said the world is witnessing changes unseen in the past 100 years, and the core of these changes is that the centre of gravity is moving from the West to East,” Cai added. “It is not just about China’s rise, but also other changes – the share of developing countries in the global economy and their voices in global governance are rising.