2018年CRI US experts on U.S.-China trade tensions: economic differences politicized

 

The recent U.S announcement to impose additional duties on Chinese imports has further intensified¹ trade tensions between the two countries, and experts from top US universities say this is largely because the economic differences between the two countries have been politicized.

Our New York correspondent Qian Shanming brings more details.

Last Friday, the United States announced additional tariffs² of 25 percent on Chinese imports worth approximately 50 billion U.S. dollars.

Prior to that, Geoffrey Garrett, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, a top U.S. business school, said the economic differences between U.S. and China have become more political.

"It's unfortunate that the politics of economic policy still tends to think in this very old mindset – export we win; import we lose. Trade imbalance must mean things unfair. You know, that makes no sense in a global economy of global distribution networks, global supply chains. We know that. When you politicize difference, you tend to focus on frictions³, you focus on win-lose, not on win-win."

The remarks were made during the 2018 Wharton Global Forum⁴ in New York.

Garrett said that China has its own economic development strategy, and he strongly suggests that the U.S. policy makers⁵ not interfere⁶ with China's own development path, but try to figure out the part that is also in the interest of the U.S. The dean said pushing up barriers on trade, investment, and market access would never be a good choice.

Mauro Guillen, Director of the Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies, Penn Wharton School, took a shaper view saying that this would be the last time that the US could use protectionism as a leverage⁷ in global trade negotiations⁸.

"I think President Trump⁹ will be the last US president that will be able to use protectionism as a weapon, in five years from now, in ten years from now, the US market is going to be smaller than it is today relative to the rest of the world. This whole thing about protectionism, I strongly believe that it is short-sighted, and that it doesn't make sense."

Guillen said as China is on the way to become the world's largest consumer market, and everything in the global economy, including the U.S. economy, would revolve¹⁰ around this new trend.

Talking about the evolving trade relations between the U.S. and China, Dean Garratt said that even though China and US are very different economies, they have leveraged¹¹ the economic differences very effectively in the past 40 years. Looking into the future, he says both sides need to stick to win-win cooperation.

"The US and China have leveraged their differences very effectively economically in the past forty years, first by outsourcing manufacturing to China at a lower cost, and most recently by the rise of the Chinese market and the incredible impact that's had on firms such as General Motors and Apple. What do you have in common? They have in common that China is their biggest growing market. So in the past forty years, difference really has been a source of economic strength for both sides, it's been a win-win. Let's focus on the win-wins, we got to get to the win-wins, they are not easy, but if we focus on the win-wins, I think that's the best thing, that's a win-win-win, it's not only a win for both countries, it's a win for the world. "

For CRI, this is Qian Shanming reporting from New York.

1 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

3 frictions   

n.摩擦( friction的名词复数 )；摩擦力；冲突；不和

参考例句：

• Family frictions can interfere with a child's schoolwork. 家庭中的争吵会影响孩子的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As far as we are concerned, these frictions are not of our own making [have been imposed on us]. 就我们来说，这种摩擦是被动式的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

7 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 revolve   

vi.(使)旋转；循环出现

参考例句：

• The planets revolve around the sun.行星绕着太阳运转。
• The wheels began to revolve slowly.车轮开始慢慢转动。

11 leveraged   

促使…改变( leverage的过去式和过去分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• Chrysler has traditionally been a highly leveraged company. 克莱斯勒一向是一家周转十分灵活的公司。
• Leveraged recaps have become popular for a number of reasons. 杠杆资本重组的大行其道有好几个原因。