A Nobel Prize winner in economics is among those raising alarms over the trade war. James Heckman sat down for an exclusive interview with CGTN's Ge Yunfei to discuss the tensions and the tech competition between China and the United States.

75-year-old Professor James Heckman is an American economist who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2000. On May 3rd last year, more than 1,000 U.S. economists, including 15 Nobel Prize Winners, signed an open letter to President Trump and the Congress. They voiced a strong opposition to tariffs and protectionism. Professor Heckman was one of them.

GE YUNFEI SHENZHEN "Now we can see that tariff conflicts are escalating worldwide and protectionism is rising globally. So what's your take on this?"

PROF. JAMES J. HECKMAN WINNER, NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS, 2000 "Well, I mean, the first thing is that president Trump and his administration don't listen much to uh, professional advice on economics or another area. So It's more or less seat of the pants for Trump. So I can say that I'm surprised he didn't listen. I think the weight of professional evidence in economics around the world, not just in the United States, is against this kind of protectionism. So I don't think anybody who knows anything about the economy supports this."

GE YUNFEI SHENZHEN "Some call it a competition between China and the U.S., or even an arms race of technology. How do you see it?"

PROF. JAMES J. HECKMAN WINNER, NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS, 2000 "A lot of people in the United States and government, I should say, feel strongly that China is moving quickly on certain areas of strategy, military, uh, prowess and so forth. And they see a potential challenge between the US and China, US and its allies, including countries like Japan in particular. So I think science is international field. It's a field where people good people, ah, well cooperate to develop ideas at the frontier. And so you know, Shenzhen, the many of the group's here, Huawei and some other companies here are pioneers. And it's recognized as such, I think, in the world, including the United States. So I don't think that's a source of great concern."

GE YUNFEI SHENZHEN "You mentioned Huawei. The company's founder, Ren Zhengfei attributed the root cause of the trade war to education. He said that China's education is lagging behind, especially in rural areas."

PROF. JAMES J. HECKMAN WINNER, NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS, 2000 "Correct. Yes, I mean I think he's correct. And I think that's recognized by many people in China. I think the leader himself, Xi Jinping, has actually been very strongly supporting interventions and promotion of educational policies in the west, poor areas, in the western rural areas. And given the fact that China's population is going to shrink and that it has to consider investing more broadly. But I think those kinds of disparities our should be tackled. And they're being addressed now, as far as I can see."

GE YUNFEI SHENZHEN "In one of your previous papers, you said China's economic miracle is mainly due to its skilled labor force before the reform began. Right now, as you said, China's population will shrink in the future. Do we have enough of a stockpile of high-end talent needed in the future, especially in the realm of AI?"

PROF. JAMES J. HECKMAN WINNER, NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS, 2000 "AI is a way for China to become competitive remaining competitive, but it's actually right now AI in the face of the current comparative advantage is a little bit crazy. I mean if you think about the labor, your comparative advantage still is in labor on skilled labor. So AI is a labor-saving technology, generally speaking. And therefore, if anything, you're going to be sort of going against your comparative advantage. But in the long run, that is the strategy, because you're not gonna have so many bodies, but you can make those bodies more productive. And so creating a more productive workplace is gonna be a way to overcome the problem of a declining population, at least in terms of workers."