{"id":10239,"date":"2024-03-29T07:35:47","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T07:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=10239"},"modified":"2024-03-29T07:35:47","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T07:35:47","slug":"larry-summers-a-friend-of-china-warns-beijing-that-its-actions-are-making-it-hard-for-people-like-him-to-push-for-stronger-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=10239","title":{"rendered":"Larry Summers, a 'friend of China,' warns Beijing that its actions are making it hard for people like him to push for stronger ties"},"content":{"rendered":"


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This bipartisan sentiment makes it challenging for those trying to argue for a more cautious, less aggressive approach to the world\u2019s second-largest economy, like former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who was instrumental to helping China join the World Trade Organization. (China formally joined the international body in December 2001). \u201cI am, in many respects, an admirer and a friend of China,\u201d Summers said in a virtual conversation with Clay Chandler, Fortune<\/em>\u2018s executive editor for Asia, at the Fortune Innovation Forum in Hong Kong on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The U.S. and China \u201creally have no alternative but to find a modus vivendi <\/em>for cooperation if either of them are to succeed,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is very difficult for me to imagine scenarios in which the U.S. is highly successful while China is failing, or where China is highly successful while the U.S is failing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Summers compared the U.S. and China to \u201ctwo guys who don\u2019t like each other much, don\u2019t know each other terribly well, and find themselves in a lifeboat that requires two oars, in a very turbulent sea, a long way from the shore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet Summers said that some of Beijing\u2019s actions aren\u2019t making it easy for those more dovish on China to make their case for improving relations. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have to say that sometimes China seems to be doing its very best to make it difficult to be less confrontational or containment-oriented in policy debates in the West,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat is\u2026coming out of China makes it much more difficult for those of us who want to emphasize negotiation and cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S.-China relations have been on a downward spiral ever since former U.S. President Donald Trump slapped hefty tariffs on imports from China. The Biden administration has largely chosen to keep<\/a> Trump\u2019s tariffs. <\/p>\n

In recent years, Washington has blocked the sale<\/a> of advanced chips and chipmaking equipment to Chinese companies, and banned U.S. investment<\/a> into Chinese companies involved in sectors like quantum computing, AI, and semiconductors. The U.S. is also encouraging companies<\/a> to \u201cde-risk\u201d their supply chains from China, and move operations to other countries, including those friendlier to the U.S.<\/p>\n

Chinese officials have attacked these policies as violations of global trade rules, even filing cases<\/a> at the WTO. <\/p>\n

Summers predicted those claims will fall on deaf ears, given China\u2019s own reliance on industrial policy, protectionist measures, and subsidies.\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t think China is in a strong position to complain about industrial subsidies\u2026[and] nationalist economic policies.\u201d he said on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Working with allies<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Biden administration, unlike its predecessor, says it is more open to working with allies to contain China. The U.S., for example, persuaded<\/a> Japan and the Netherlands to impose their own controls on selling chipmaking equipment to China.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But domestic political pressures could undercut those efforts. U.S. politicians, including President Biden<\/a>, have attacked Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel\u2019s $14 billion deal to buy U.S. Steel on national security grounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nippon Steel, for its part, has tried to defend its acquisition by claiming it would create a steelmaking giant capable of competing with China<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Summers has previously criticized efforts to block the deal. \u201cThere is no remotely plausible national-security rationale for questioning the Nippon-U.S. Steel transaction. Japan is a staunch ally.\u201d he told Bloomberg TV<\/a> in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The economist on Thursday again alluded to the idea of trying to keep U.S. Steel in domestic hands. \u201cThe U.S. employs more than 60 times as many people in industries that use steel, as it does in the steel industry,\u201d he noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we do things that raise the price of steel with various types of economic restrictions, we have to think very carefully about whether we are, on net, helping or hurting American workers,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Where are U.S.-China relations going?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Other speakers at the Fortune Innovation Forum noted that, even amid trade tensions, there were still some positive trends in U.S.-China economic relations. On Wednesday, Chinese president Xi Jinping met with U.S. CEOs<\/a> in the wake of the China Development Forum, Beijing\u2019s summit for Chinese officials and foreign business leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was less criticism also this year from Washington about U.S. business leaders doing business in China,\u201d Ben Harburg, managing partner of global investment firm MSA Capital, said on Wednesday at the Fortune Innovation Forum. \u201cThese kinds of narratives that it was treasonous to do business in China have been ratcheted down a bit, and so that gave people a bit more confidence to show their feathers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington and Beijing have worked to restore ties in recent months, including a summit<\/a> between Xi and Biden last November. <\/p>\n