Mr. Pompeo, please clarify the America model

World
Europe

03:37

On June 18, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a speech at the Detroit Economic Club on America’s Economic Revival.

There are so many things I could argue about that speech, but I would focus on this one that I think really matters: the comparison between the “America model” and the “China model.” He is wrong, I believe, to compare these two because there is no “China model.”

In his speech, he talks about the US economy's record-setting upswing over the past 17 months, and peddles the “America model” to the parts of the world that have not adopted it, asserting, “they will do so because capitalism and the dynamic nature of America is essential to economic success.”

When talking about Africa, he claimed, if America “can put in place the building blocks, such as the rule of law, property rights and so on, I am confident that that growth will occur with a model that looks more like the West than China.” Well, bravo for the economic performance, if the Trump administration can actually take credit for it.

But Mr. Pompeo, there is no such thing as a China model. This term is what others have coined for China. The Chinese government has never officially endorsed it or used it. China does have its own way of development.

The famous economist Joshua Cooper Ramo came up with the term “Beijing Consensus,” which sums it up roughly- work extra hard, innovate, repeatedly experiment, protect national sovereignty and interests, and move in small steps.

May 31, 2018: Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, speaks during a press conference after meeting with DPRK's Kim Yong Chol, not pictured, in New York. / VCG Photo

These have been China's experience and 40 years of practice have proved it could be the right way for China. And it's an on-going process. The key to China’s way is not to copy others’ models but to find China-specific solutions.

This is in steep contrast to the Washington Consensus, which forces countries to liberalize their markets and economies at their own peril. Do according to your own circumstances, and not copy others.

When other countries come to China for advice, this is what China tells them. Just on Tuesday, during a meeting with the DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that China supports the DPRK finding a development path that suits itself. When China invests in other countries, it's based on mutual consent and mutual benefit. There are no ideological strings attached.

Concerning the America Model, I have some questions for Mr. Pompeo, what do you mean by the America model? Do you mean Libya or Iraq? When you say Africa should follow the America model, please share with us some concrete actions. Are you going to send American workers instead of soldiers to build roads, railways, hospitals and industrial parks? How much do you plan to invest in Africa next year?

Mr. Pompeo, you talked about the rule of law. How do you plan to enhance the rule of law in Africa? By regime change or selling weapons to the oppositions? Property rights, another beautiful term, but when you are separating children forcibly from their parents on your southern border, there is not even human rights to speak of, what do you care about property rights?

Therefore, Mr. Pompeo, please explain what the “America model” really is? What we have seen is far from being perfect. Meanwhile, please also understand there is no such thing as so-called “China model.” Countries in Africa and other parts of the world will make up their own mind about how they want to develop. Or, is that the problem for you?