China-US trade surplus sparks growing fears

World
Europe

‍By CGTN's The Point

“Some of the Chinese accuse the Trump administration of maintaining an egomaniacal attitude,” said Liu Baocheng, Director of the Center for International Business Ethics at the University of International Business and Economics.

“But I would read that there is a general fear when someone is close on your heels, and you are the forerunner in technology and also in world leadership. Now the sudden rise of China is really posing fear, not only in the US, but also to those who are willing to see the status quo.”

China's trade surplus with the US grew last year. Figures released from China's General Administration of Customs on Friday showed that although China's trade surplus with the world fell by 17 percent, its surplus with the US expanded over 10 percent, reaching 275.8 billion US dollars.

Meanwhile AT&T has dropped a deal to collaborate with Chinese telecomms firm Huawei, while Alibaba has again been accused by the US of selling counterfeit goods and blacklisted as a result.

“China needs to recognize that it presented a challenge, and I don’t mean it in an oppositional way,” Dr. Christopher Smart, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said, “But it (China) is a new and very different economic player. The current rules aren’t really well adapted to engaging.”

“This requires the US and Europe to broaden the conversation, and it also requires the Chinese authorities to recognize that they need to hear and listen to the concerns.”

“If China were a smaller country, there wouldn’t be such big concerns. But because of China’s size and dynamism, I think we need to talk about these issues openly and frankly, and find ways to come to terms with this very dynamic new player on the global economic scene,” Smart added.

The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9.30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5.30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10.30 a.m. (0230GMT).

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