Global Economic Intersection
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Investments
    • Invest in Amazon $250
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Best Bitcoin Accounts
    • Bitcoin Robot
      • Quantum AI
      • Bitcoin Era
      • Bitcoin Aussie System
      • Bitcoin Profit
      • Bitcoin Code
      • eKrona Cryptocurrency
      • Bitcoin Up
      • Bitcoin Prime
      • Yuan Pay Group
      • Immediate Profit
      • BitQH
      • Bitcoin Loophole
      • Crypto Boom
      • Bitcoin Treasure
      • Bitcoin Lucro
      • Bitcoin System
      • Oil Profit
      • The News Spy
      • Bitcoin Buyer
      • Bitcoin Inform
      • Immediate Edge
      • Bitcoin Evolution
      • Cryptohopper
      • Ethereum Trader
      • BitQL
      • Quantum Code
      • Bitcoin Revolution
      • British Trade Platform
      • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Reddit
    • Celebrities
      • Dr. Chris Brown Bitcoin
      • Teeka Tiwari Bitcoin
      • Russell Brand Bitcoin
      • Holly Willoughby Bitcoin
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Investments
    • Invest in Amazon $250
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Best Bitcoin Accounts
    • Bitcoin Robot
      • Quantum AI
      • Bitcoin Era
      • Bitcoin Aussie System
      • Bitcoin Profit
      • Bitcoin Code
      • eKrona Cryptocurrency
      • Bitcoin Up
      • Bitcoin Prime
      • Yuan Pay Group
      • Immediate Profit
      • BitQH
      • Bitcoin Loophole
      • Crypto Boom
      • Bitcoin Treasure
      • Bitcoin Lucro
      • Bitcoin System
      • Oil Profit
      • The News Spy
      • Bitcoin Buyer
      • Bitcoin Inform
      • Immediate Edge
      • Bitcoin Evolution
      • Cryptohopper
      • Ethereum Trader
      • BitQL
      • Quantum Code
      • Bitcoin Revolution
      • British Trade Platform
      • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Reddit
    • Celebrities
      • Dr. Chris Brown Bitcoin
      • Teeka Tiwari Bitcoin
      • Russell Brand Bitcoin
      • Holly Willoughby Bitcoin
No Result
View All Result
Global Economic Intersection
No Result
View All Result

China’s Grudge Match

admin by admin
September 30, 2014
in Uncategorized
0
0
SHARES
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

by John West, Asian Century Institute

China has been charging international companies for anti-competitive behaviour and bribery, and harassing foreign residents. On a recent visit to Beijing we tried to understand what’s going on.

China has been charging international companies for anti-competitive behavior and bribery, and harassing foreign residents. On a recent visit to Beijing we tried to understand what’s going on.

International business used to be welcomed with open arms in China. Deng Xiaoping’s decision 35 years ago to open China to international trade and investment was critical in launching the country’s rapid development. Western, Japanese and other Asian companies brought technology and global best practices to China. And Chinese companies, workers and the economy benefited handsomely.

This is how China became the world’s biggest exporter. Even today, multinational companies account for one-half of China’s exports. This includes the notorious iPhone, iPad and many other electronic products which are assembled by Foxconn, a Taiwanese company.

These international companies were granted many “incentives” (tax breaks, duty free imports, etc) to establish themselves in China, usually in special economic zones. And many of these companies could not avoid getting entangled in corruption, the very currency of Chinese economy and society. Many foreign companies may charge more for their products in China than back home. But this is usually because China does not have open and competitive markets that would bargain prices down.

In recent times, China has been striking back at the hand that fed it.

A whole string of automobile, technology and pharmaceutical companies have been accused and fined for anti-competitive behavior like price fixing, and corruption. Companies like Microsoft, Qualcomm, Daimler, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Japanese auto-parts makers and Glaxo SmithKline have all been involved in cases.

According to the American Chamber of Commerce in China, 60% of companies feel less welcome in China than before, sharply up from last year’s 41%. Some 61% of European companies that have operated in China for more than a decade said doing business in the country is getting more difficult, according to the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.

Human Rights Watch, an activist organization, has recently highlighted the common interests of both the business and human rights communities. It has called on American and European business to join forces with the human rights community.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang denies the claim that foreign firms are being singled out. Li says that 90% of the firms charged under the anti-monopoly law are locals.

There are increasing reports of harassment of foreign residents, especially ethnic Chinese with international passports. According to the US State Department:

“Reports of business disputes involving violence, death threats, hostage-taking, and travel bans involving Americans continue to increase, although American citizens and foreigners in general do not appear to be more likely than Chinese nationals to be subject to this treatment”.

Such equality of treatment is hardly reassuring in a country with rampant human rights’ abuses and lack of rule of law.

We heard many explanations for this new trend, and there is likely to be an element of truth in them all.

Most insist that President Xi Jingping is very serious about his economic reform program. And no-one, including multinationals, can be exempt from reform.

Some add that as he is ferociously attacking domestic corruption, Xi cannot be seen to be giving foreigners a free ride. So multinationals are suffering from collateral damage. Xi believes that the very survival of the Communist Party is at stake, and must do his utmost to shore up public support.

Claims that Xi is attacking foreign companies to provide indirect assistance to local companies, may not hold water. With the economy now slowing down, China needs foreign investment. Indeed, it will still need investment and its accompanying technology transfers for many years to come.

This has also led to a softening in Xi’s attitude to Japan, whose investment in China has weakened substantially over the past year or so. It now seems increasingly likely that on the margins of November’s APEC summit being hosted by China, Xi will accord Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a long-sought-after meeting.

Geopolitics was also cited as a factor for striking at American companies.

President Xi was incensed when the US accused and named five People’s Liberation Army officers as being guilty of cyber espionage. (Xi is close to the PLA, and needs their support at this crucial time.) Edward Snowden’s revelations of US cyber espionage has greatly damaged any credibility that the US has on this issue.

Xi is also angered by Obama’s pivot to Asia, and his refusal to accept China’s proposal for a new security arrangements, which would see a reduced role for the US (and a bigger role for China) in Asia. Xi believes that the US must make way for China as a rising power.

Many observers, like Sydney University’s Kerry Brown, are quick to point out that China is “neither a missionary culture nor a values superpower“. China has no desire to colonize or invade other countries, and is more concerned with its domestic problems — so the argument goes.

But President Xi is clear about the Western Pacific being a legitimate Chinese sphere of influence. And former Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi is famously quoted as saying that “China is a big country and other countries are small countries and that is a fact”. They do not seem to think that sovereign countries should have the right to choose their own allies.

This is clearly motivating China’s assertiveness in the East and South China Sea. China sees the countries of Southeast Asia sees as mere pawns in its “great game“, as it tries to redraw maritime borders by force.

But the affected countries want no truck of Chinese domination, and are cooperating ever more closely with the US. Even Malaysia has reportedly invited the US to fly spy planes out of East Malaysia on the southern rim of the South China Sea. And the venom of disenchanted neighbors can be seen in the death of 18 Chinese nationals in the Philippines so far this year, 14 of those by murder or kidnapping.

Strident nationalism and anti-Japanese sentiment are evident in every conversation in China. The government has done a great job in pumping up the Chinese population, especially through TV shows and movies. Thus, prosecuting big-name Western and Japanese companies panders nicely to popular nationalism.

The long, lingering shadow hanging over everything in China is its desire to recover from the century of humiliation, between the mid 19th century opium wars and the civil war. China wants to be treated with the respect due to a world power and the soon-to-be world’s biggest economy. But as the Economist magazine recently wrote, China “does not know how to achieve or deserve it“. This requires generosity and magnanimous behavior rather than bully tactics.

From a Western perspective, this all seems like “China’s grudge match“, motivated by a chip on the shoulder. But as a leading China-watcher said to me, “the world looks different when seen from Beijing“. We also have to understand that too.

Previous Post

New Tool for Information about Home Prices, Distressed Sales, Delinquencies and Foreclosures

Next Post

Market Correction Or Dip?

Related Posts

Philippines To Offer Value-Added Tax Refund To Foreign Visitors By 2024
Economics

Philippines To Offer Value-Added Tax Refund To Foreign Visitors By 2024

by John Wanguba
January 31, 2023
Bitcoin Mining Revenue Rises 50% To $23M In A Month
Business

Bitcoin Mining Revenue Rises 50% To $23M In A Month

by John Wanguba
January 30, 2023
U.S. Inflation Roller Coaster Sparks New Outlook On Long-Ignored Money Supply
Econ Intersect News

U.S. Inflation Roller Coaster Sparks New Outlook On Long-Ignored Money Supply

by John Wanguba
January 30, 2023
Bitcoin Adoption Of Guatemalan Merchants Increases A BTC Tattoo At A Time
Business

Bitcoin Adoption Of Guatemalan Merchants Increases A BTC Tattoo At A Time

by John Wanguba
January 30, 2023
US Economy Recorded Robust Growth In Q4, But With Underlying Weakness
Economics

US Economy Recorded Robust Growth In Q4, But With Underlying Weakness

by John Wanguba
January 30, 2023
Next Post

Market Correction Or Dip?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Browse by Category

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

adoption altcoins banking banks Binance Bitcoin Bitcoin adoption Bitcoin market Bitcoin mining blockchain BTC business China crypto crypto adoption cryptocurrency crypto exchange crypto market crypto regulation decentralized finance DeFi Elon Musk ETH Ethereum Europe finance FTX inflation investment market analysis markets Metaverse mining NFT nonfungible tokens oil market price analysis recession regulation Russia technology Tesla the UK the US Twitter

Archives

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • August 2010
  • August 2009

Categories

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized
Global Economic Intersection

After nearly 11 years of 24/7/365 operation, Global Economic Intersection co-founders Steven Hansen and John Lounsbury are retiring. The new owner, a global media company in London, is in the process of completing the set-up of Global Economic Intersection files in their system and publishing platform. The official website ownership transfer took place on 24 August.

Categories

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • Philippines To Offer Value-Added Tax Refund To Foreign Visitors By 2024
  • Bitcoin Mining Revenue Rises 50% To $23M In A Month
  • U.S. Inflation Roller Coaster Sparks New Outlook On Long-Ignored Money Supply

© Copyright 2021 EconIntersect - Economic news, analysis and opinion.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Bitcoin Robot
    • Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Code
    • Quantum AI
    • eKrona Cryptocurrency
    • Bitcoin Up
    • Bitcoin Prime
    • Yuan Pay Group
    • Immediate Profit
    • BitIQ
    • Bitcoin Loophole
    • Crypto Boom
    • Bitcoin Era
    • Bitcoin Treasure
    • Bitcoin Lucro
    • Bitcoin System
    • Oil Profit
    • The News Spy
    • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Trader
  • Bitcoin Reddit

© Copyright 2021 EconIntersect - Economic news, analysis and opinion.

en English
ar Arabicbg Bulgarianda Danishnl Dutchen Englishfi Finnishfr Frenchde Germanel Greekit Italianja Japaneselv Latvianno Norwegianpl Polishpt Portuguesero Romanianes Spanishsv Swedish