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More Chinese feel good with Americans, satisfied with Sino-U.S. ties: poll
UPDATED: 11:30, March 19, 2006
Almost 80 percent of Chinese people feel good about people from the United States and most were satisfied with the Sino-U.S. relations, results of a recent poll show.
The poll, carried out in late February by the Global Times, a publication of the leading newspaper People's Daily, showed that 60 percent of Chinese are generally satisfied with the Sino-U.S. ties, and nearly 20 percent are satisfied or very satisfied with bilateral ties.
The survey was conducted in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Wuhan.
Some 36.7 percent of the interviewees regarded the United States as a cooperative partner, 23.5 percent said it is an example to learn from and 16.1 percent said the United States is a friendly country.
However, about 60 percent of the interviewees said "yes" on whether the United States is striving to restrain China, about the same as last year's survey.
The Taiwan issue is an important factor in forming the Chinese public opinion about the United States. About 60 percent of the interviewees said the Taiwan question was the most important issue in Sino-U.S. ties and most of the interviewees were unsatisfied with U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
On Sino-U.S. trade ties, 66.6 percent of the interviewees said it stimulated China's economic progress and 44.5 percent said it promoted reforms in China.
The majority of respondents thought the United States benefited more than China from the booming trade. Rising trade disputes also sparked lot of concern.
Source: Xinhua
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200603/19/eng20060319_251788.html
China-EU economic and trade ties draw closer and closer
Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 30, 2004
While the smile of EU trade commissioner Pascal Lamy is still lingering in Chinese people's minds, Franz Fischler, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fishery arrived in Beijing at Lamy's heels, leading a promotion delegation of 25 senior EU business leaders. Coming together with the delegation are such traditional European foodstuffs as wine from Italy and France, biscuit from Denmark, chocolate from Belgium and olive oil from Spain.
China-EU economic and trade links strengthened
A seminar on attracting foreign funds in agricultural field between China and EU was held in Beijing March 26 present at which were Commerce minister Bo Xilai and Franz Fischler.
Addressing the meeting, Bo said that China-EU economic and trade ties have been developing continuously in recent years, with the bilateral trade volume reaching 125.2 billion US dollars last year and EU becoming China's third largest trade partner. China pays high attention to conducting cooperation with EU in many fields including agriculture, hoping Chinese and European governments as well as business leaders could further promote trade ties by strengthening communication, reaching consensus and solving problems of common concern. In a few years to come the Chinese economy will keep a momentum of sustained, rapid and sound growth, and it can be predicted that there will be huge potential market for Chinese farm produce.
In China's process of opening to the outside world and participating in overall international economic cooperation, Bo said, the government will encourage enterprises to cooperate with more foreign suppliers, further expand import and, through which, to push forward economic structure adjustment. EU is welcome to take part in competition on Chinese market with their quality commodities, and China also hopes EU to further open to Chinese goods to achieve mutual benefits.
Speaking of the import of mushroom and garlic, Fischler said, "the expansion of the EU has brought huge opportunities to China. Just like other kinds of tariffs, the average tariff for farm produce of our new members will be lowered. I'm very clear that the import of mushroom and garlic is the most concerned issue of China. I'm convinced that a proper solution will be found out through negotiations in line with the WTO rules".
Push forward the "Doha round" negotiations
Fischler stressed at a press conference held on the afternoon of March 26, "China's important role in the WTO is to push forward the 'Doha round' negotiations. For China the return will be huge. The EU side has agreed to make farm produce market much more accessible, reduce supportive measures that disrupt trade and cancel export subsidies in various forms. I fully appreciate the big concessions China made in order to join the WTO. We must show flexibility so as to reach a good agreement. China only needs to "pay" a little bit in advance in the Doha round for a return of huge profits from liberalized farm produce trade".
"Our reform will lead to a 70-percent cut-off from our farm produce subsidies that disrupt trade", Fischler added, "before 2013 agricultural subsidies will be slashed by half in EU's budget expenditure. This kind of subsidy support is not pegged with the output volume. Therefore, it will not affect China's farm produce trade". Last year, EU agreed on the biggest agricultural trade reform in history, in an attempt to set up a system better facilitating trade, bring better return to European tax-payers and consumers and drive EU's farm produce by market demand instead of by subsidies.
"I also come for promoting 'good European tastes", Fischler said at last, "for we want to show Chinese consumers various kinds of high-quality food and drinks supplied by Europe. There is huge food trade potentials between China and EU, which needs to be further tapped. Our visit this time will further our trade ties and offer new business opportunities for European enterprise representatives who have excellent food and drinks".
By People's Daily Online
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200403/30/eng20040330_138941.shtml
The misleading sensibility
UPDATED: 16:06, May 10, 2006
The huge US trade deficit with China has been a thorny issue in the bilateral economic relations in recent years. Inexpensive Chinese products help Americans reduce their spending, curb their inflation and trim their budget deficit. But it seems that sensibility, instead of sense, shapes their judgment on the issue.
For Americans, job losses caused by the foreign competition and price hikes caused by imports restriction bring them different feelings. The assertion that competition from low-end Chinese products leads to job cuts or even bankruptcies in American businesses ignites and sharpens particularly strong sentiment among people affected and media sensationalism sharpens that mentality.
However, it takes time for the market to respond to imports limits by raising prices. In addition, the extra costs will be shared by all consumers. Therefore, the majority of the public have more tolerance toward slight price rise than blue-collars do for losing jobs. American medium and small-sized enterprises which fail in the market competition regard Chinese products as their threat.
That is why the voice of criticism against China is so loud in the US. But the fact is that even if the US restrains Chinese products, products from other countries will go in as well.
The sensibility also influences the US politics. Some senators without fully understanding about the Sino-US trade take China as a scapegoat to win votes. Multinational giants which are making huge profits in China and supported China's WTO accession keep silent on this issue for fear of being labeled as "non-patriotic" although what they really want is further prosperity of the bilateral trade.
China's export structure also leads to the misleading sensibility of Americans. Most Chinese exports are daily necessities. For American consumers, they see so many "Made in China" in supermarkets. In 2004, out of the US imports, 81 percent of sports equipments, 68 percent of shoes, 42 percent of furniture, 22 percent of electronic equipment, and 20 percent of garment were from China.
But actually Chinese products only accounted for 14 percent of the total US imports. If spending on food and energy is not counted, Made-in-China only cost 2 percent of American's consumption.
There is a view in the US which attributes China's fast growing economy for years to its trade surplus with the US. The robust economic growth has reinforced its national power. Some Americans are inclined to politicize economic issues especially when China invests a part of its trade surplus in the US treasury bonds.
Americans have trade liberalization and open market on their lips --- on the condition that their own interests are not affected. That has been exemplified by their trade disputes with the EU and Japan. Free trade always gives way to trade protectionism and the pursuit for material interests prevails. Countries which dwarf the US with their products then become a "threat".
Media is always ready to join the bandwagon in this case. All of these have resulted to sensibility outgrowing sense, leading to oversight of the US responsibility for erasing the imbalanced trade and ignorance of the truth of the trade --- reciprocity.
By People's Daily Online
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200605/10/eng20060510_264462.html
Will China's rise trigger Sino-US confrontation?
John J. Mearsheimer, professor of political science of Chicago University said that as China is gaining rapid development in the economic field, whereas the United States cannot tolerate the existence of rival that maches it in force, the result will be fierce and dangerous competition for security which is similar to the confrontation between the United States and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War period. But this writer thinks this view is open to discussion.
At the invitation of the Global Times, John J. Mearsheimer, professor of political science of Chicago University, on November this year had a dialog with Professor Qin Yaqing, vice-president with the Foreign Affairs Institute on big powers' political issues. While predicting Sino-US relations in the next 20 to 50 years, Mearsheimer said that China is gaining rapid development in the economic field, whereas the United States cannot tolerate the existence of rival that matches it in force. The result will be fierce and dangerous competition for security, such competition is similar to the confrontation between the United States and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War period. But this writer thinks this view is open to discussion.
The main shortcoming of this view is that it fails to notice the unprecedented changes that have taken place in today's world. It is these changes that have created the possibility and necessity for cooperation between the world's powers amid their confrontation. The key factors for these changes are economic globalization and the accompanying progress of science and technology. After World War II, science and technology have developed by leaps and bounds and productive forces have experienced unprecedented growth, thus giving rise to a series of changes in the world economic relations and international relationship, including ties between big powers. It was these changes that have prevented big powers from "taking the crooked way of repeating historical disputes."
First, after World War II, there appeared the "third sci-tech revolution" as indicated mainly by computer technology, electronic energy technology and space technology. Since 1985, marked by software development and large-scale industrialization, humankind has entered a new era of information revolution. The swift and vigorous science and technology development have raised productivity by dozens, hundreds or even thousands of times.
The big bourgeoisie in capitalist countries have reaped huge amounts of exorbitant profits from the dramatic rise in labor productivity. The annual evaluation report of the global rich and powerful people released by Thames Sunday in early 2001 showed that five out of the first 10 richest in the world are engaged in software and computer production. Tycoons in major capitalist countries are hunting for their interests with their own economic strength powered by science and technology. By relying on the enormous economic strength formed by scientific and technological progress, the big bourgeoisie in major capitalist countries reaped profits worldwide, they do not need to grab colonies or expand territory as colonialist and imperialist powers did in history, and so will not spark fierce conflicts or even leading to world war. China is a developing socialist country whose production aims to meet people's growing material and cultural needs, it does not seek hegemony or outward expansion, still less to engage in confrontation with the United States in this regard.
Second, with enormous rise in productive forces and due to the fact that the big bourgeoisie of the capitalist countries and their politicians, who drew a lesson from the Great Depression in the 1930s, adopted many measures to regulate economic activities, for instance, the macro-control means such as finance, interest rate and taxation, What's more, they constantly effected a change from labor-intensive industries to capital- and technology-intensive industries and then to high-tech and high value-added industries, as a result, although economic recession still appeared in this or that country, except individual cases, their economies, however, rapidly headed toward recovery and prosperity, Great Depression of the 1930s type did not appear after war, nor had there been fanatic fascist war forces as had there been in Germany, Italy and Japan after World War II.
Take the situation in the United States in the last 10 years of the 20th century for example. The economic periodic, phased characteristics had been obviously faded away, its economic self-regulating capability had been greatly enhanced. In the past three years, the US economy was once stagnant, after measures such as the lowering of interest rate and drastic tax-cut were adopted by the US government, the country's economic growth rate has been notably quickened. The requirement for ridding of the economic crisis through war did not arise in the capitalist countries.
Third, through high progressive tax and other methods, US and European capitalist countries take out part of the super profits gained by the big bourgeoisie for redistribution, for improvement of social welfare and harmony of class contradiction. Many European countries which are or once were under the rule of the social democratic party generally put exclusive stress on material benefits, the social welfare of the United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, and Singapore also greatly improved, capitalist countries enjoyed relatively social stability, whereas before World War II, there were the Great Depression of Economy, the unemployment of large batches of workers who were unable to eke out a living.
Hitler cheated the people with national socialism, boasting that only he himself could save Germany and form the Nazi Party, he found from reportage a way out for arms expansion and invasions of other countries, thus provoking World War II. Over the past more than 50 years after the war, no such great panic has appeared in Western countries and there was thus no soil for fascist rampage. In Japan, the United States and West European countries, some Right-wing organizations stirred up troubles from time to time, but that didn't amount to anything. The people in big capitalist countries universally oppose war and demand peace. China is a peace-loving country and the Chinese people long for a peaceful world environment for economic development. So there is no social basis for China-US confrontation.
Fourth, along with hi-tech development, the number of transnationals has increased day by day, the development process of economic globalization has been quickened, mutual investment among major world powers has multiplied, forming a situation in which there is something of each in the other. Particularly with the arrival of the information era, the world has become increasingly small and nations are getting nearer to each other. Economic links between nations, especially between big countries, have become closer, Production elements are circulating worldwide, interaction and interdependence relationship has taken shape economically among various big countries.
After World War II, the United States and other major capitalist countries drew a lesson from World War II and initiated the establishment of the "General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade" GATT, now WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank (WB). The "three pillars" that supported the world economy established an open trade regime and created a stable monetary exchange system. These, plus the Seven -Nation Summit, or G7 (now G8) mechanism, reconciled the economic contradictions among big powers. Trade frictions, though endless, did not run out of control. As far as China and the United States are concerned, the United States is the biggest developed country in the world, while China is the largest developing country, the two countries' economy and trade are of strongly mutual benefit, with great development potential.
After China's entry into the WTO, Sino-US economic and trade cooperation continued to maintain the good momentum of sustained and rapid development. According to China's statistics, in the trade field, Sino-US trade volume reached US$102.48 billion in the first 10 months this year, up 30.7 percent year on year. Of which China's imports from the United States hit US$27.56 billion, a rise of 25.7 percent over the same period last year.
In the investment field, the United States newly added 3308 projects in China between January and October, up 22.5 percent year on year, Chinese enterprises' investment in America also increased. According to statistics from the US Department of Commerce, the growth rate of US exports to China reached 18.5 percent in the first nine months of this year, far exceeding the growth of its exports to other main trade partners. China has now become America's fourth largest trade partner and will possibly rise to the third place by the end of this year, the United States is China's second largest trade partner.
America's exports to China create 500,000 high-salary job opportunities for the United States each year, China's cheap and good commodities have helped US consumers save expenditures to the tune of US$20 billion each yea