What the US wants is to protect its global dominance

China Plus Published: 2018-04-20 23:03:00
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From our guest: “The US government has designated China as a long-term strategic threat and they are acting on it. They don’t want any country to threat the United States economic, political or military dominance of the world. This is part of what they believe is America’s exceptionalism that requires the United States to be leading the world towards a liberal, democratic, capitalist democracy. And unfortunately, this is just not real.”

For more on this, here’s the full transcript of our interview with Einar Tangen, current affair commentator by TODAY’s host Su Yi. 

Su Yi: So given it took place during the on-going trade spat between China and the United States, how much is it about trade war and how much is it about law enforcement? 

Einar: I think you have to shoot this 100% about the trade war. This is an exploratory move by Trump, to see if he can get China knuckle in by destroying its companies. If this had been about law, there are processes involved. They had been involved before. ZTE had been punished by the US government and there have been fines imposed. 

[File photo: VCG]

[File photo: VCG]

Su Yi: If we look at Trump Administration’s proposed tariffs on the fifty billion US dollar worth of Chinese goods, they are exclusively targeting the initiative called “Made in China 2025” - a plan to upgrade the Chinese industry. Why are those tariffs designed that way?

Einar: While talking about these tariffs, you have to understand the world view. And what we have currently is that the US government has designated China as a long-term strategic threat and they are acting on it. They don’t want any country to threaten the United States economic, political or military dominance of the world. This is part of what they believe is America’s exceptionalism that requires the United States to be leading the world towards a liberal, democratic, capitalist democracy. And unfortunately, this is just not real. It is an extremely hardline ideological position that does not allow any kind of differences, (either) culture or (path of) development. And this is the problem. This kind of moves unfortunately, will probably continue. Because there is a fundamental difference between the ideologies of a hardline US and the thriving China just trying to make its way in the world a win-win situation that is opposed to a unilateral way.

Su Yi: Now there are a lot of debates in China on the internet. Some people argue that this ZTE case serves as a wake-up call for China and also Chinese companies which have overseas business. What can Chinese companies learn from such consequences for ZTE?

Einar: I mean they are learning about political risk and this is going to be important not only for the US but for Europe. You know, in Europe, it is possible they haven’t shown the same kind of act as the US, but what the US is doing is setting an example. But in other instances like the Belt and Road Initiative, it is also very important to have complete understanding, not only in language but in political, cultural, social issues that align this in the economic system and the legal system. I think a lot of companies are going to start looking at their going-out programs, employing people who could really help them negotiate all the pitfalls and understand the local condition. Chinese companies are used to (the idea of) “we make money and we will provide business services, hopefully at a very competitive prices and we will win”. But now it is clear that is not enough. 

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LU Xiankun Professor LU Xiankun is Managing Director of LEDECO Geneva and Associate Partner of IDEAS Centre Geneva. He is Emeritus Professor of China Institute for WTO Studies of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) and Wuhan University (WHU) of China and visiting professor or senior research fellow of some other universities and think tanks in China and Europe. He also sits in management of some international business associations and companies, including as Senior Vice President of Shenzhen UEB Technology LTD., a leading e-commerce company of China. Previously, Mr. LU was senior official of Chinese Ministry of Commerce and senior diplomat posted in Europe, including in Geneva as Counsellor and Head of Division of the Permanent Mission of China to the WTO and in Brussels as Commercial Secretary of the Permanent Mission of China to the EU. Benjamin Cavender Benjamin Cavender is a Shanghai based consultant with more than 11 years of experience helping companies understand consumer behavior and develop go to market strategies for China. He is a frequent speaker on economic and consumer trends in China and is often featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Channel News Asia. Sara Hsu Sara Hsu is an associate professor from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She is a regular commentator on Chinese economy. Xu Qinduo Xu Qinduo is CRI's former chief correspondent to Washington DC, the United States. He works as the producer, host and commentator for TODAY, a flagship talk show on current affairs. Mr. Xu contributes regularly to English-language newspapers including Shenzhen Daily and Global Times as well as Chinese-language radio and TV services. Lin Shaowen A radio person, Mr. Lin Shaowen is strongly interested in international relations and Chinese politics. As China is quite often misunderstood in the rest of the world, he feels the need to better present the true picture of the country, the policies and meanings. So he talks a lot and is often seen debating. Then friends find a critical Lin Shaowen criticizing and criticized. George N. Tzogopoulos Dr George N. Tzogopoulos is an expert in media and politics/international relations as well as Chinese affairs. He is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre International de Européenne (CIFE) and Visiting Lecturer at the European Institute affiliated with it and is teaching international relations at the Department of Law of the Democritus University of Thrace. George is the author of two books: US Foreign Policy in the European Media: Framing the Rise and Fall of Neoconservatism (IB TAURIS) and The Greek Crisis in the Media: Stereotyping in the International Press (Ashgate) as well as the founder of chinaandgreece.com, an institutional partner of CRI Greek. David Morris David Morris is the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commissioner in China, a former Australian diplomat and senior political adviser. Harvey Dzodin After a distinguished career in the US government and American media Dr. Harvey Dzodin is now a Beijing-based freelance columnist for several media outlets. While living in Beijing, he has published over 200 columns with an emphasis on arts, culture and the Belt & Road initiative. He is also a sought-after speaker and advisor in China and abroad. He currently serves as Nonresident Research Fellow of the think tank Center for China and Globalization and Senior Advisor of Tsinghua University National Image Research Center specializing in city branding. Dr. Dzodin was a political appointee of President Jimmy Carter and served as lawyer to a presidential commission. Upon the nomination of the White House and the US State Department he served at the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria. He was Director and Vice President of the ABC Television in New York for more than two decades.