Chinese Premier Li Qiang during the opening of CIIE
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, November 7: Ahead of Xi Jinping-Joe Biden Summit, China is making a strong case for its pivotal role in the economic stability of the global economy. China has said that it would stick to the path of “opening up” amid growing concerns that Xi’s third term is an anti-thesis of Chinese steps for integration with the world economy.
In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the CIIE, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said that “economic globalization is a historical trend and people’s aspiration, and pursuing openness and cooperation for win-win results is the wisest and most natural option”. He further stated that it is “China’s sincere wish to work with other countries to move in the same direction and help each other succeed on the broad stage of openness, make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all, and make greater contribution to global recovery, development and prosperity”.
With Chinese economy on a sharp downturn amid the deepening global aversion to Beijing’s attempts to hegemonise the international economic order and flex the political muscle by gaining from the economic clout, the US and Europe are seen accelerating measures to de-couple and de-risk in their engagements with the Communist-ruled nation.
“This year marks the 45th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up. China will continue to promote opening up that unlocks greater market opportunities, better aligns with international rules, registers a stronger innovation momentum, and features greater inclusiveness and benefit-sharing,” said Li.
However, Jason Cummins, while writing in The Financial Times stated that Xi’s “Chinese Dream has ended the 40-year ‘to get rich is glorious’ era in China. Going forward, China will emphasise state-led growth, common prosperity and national security. After powering global growth for decades, Chinese economic growth will slow and, as a result, fewer of its financial reserves will be recycled into international markets”.
In his letter to the opening event of CIIE, Xi sought to dispel the growing notions against China. “The world economic recovery lacks momentum and requires the solidarity and cooperation of all countries. China will always be an important opportunity for global development. We will firmly advance high-standard opening-up and continue to make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all,” added Xi.
Metrics, a journal, in a report, however, argued that Europe may lack scope to deal with China for want of capacity. “The space for a European offensive agenda vis-a-vis China, pushing its economic and political interests, is shrinking as reflected in the limited European presence in China and the reactive policy engagement,” added Metrics in a background to country-specific report on China.
Xi, however, is calling for a “a new development pattern to create new opportunities for the world through China’s further development, and as a platform of high-standard opening up to enable the world to share in the enormous market”.
Evidently, China wants to rewrite the terms of engagement with the world economy and embed its political ambitions. While the anti-China sentiments are seen building up in the US and Europe, Metrics further argued that “European perceptions of China are deteriorating. While some countries have taken measures to increase their China-knowledge and capacity, most of them are lagging behind. This limits the ability of countries to proactively develop a China agenda rather than just respond to events, and also it hinders the possibility of the European public opinion in developing a fact-based perception of China”.
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