On globalization ‘with Chinese characteristics’?

Abstract

This Commentary looks at Globalization ‘with Chinese Characteristics’ (quanqiu hua yu zhongguo tese) as revealed through the lens of President Xi Jinping’s recent speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January, 2017. In this, he sets out a positive role for the PRC in the ‘Globalization’ stakes. He also puts himself forward as ‘Expert’, rather than ‘Red’, in the ongoing polemic on the benefits of further reductions in barriers to doing business. But whether this may be taken at its face value remains to be seen. Whilst the Chinese appear to promote more of ‘Globalization’ and the Americans seem to retreat from the model, the world economic community may well suspend its judgement.

Keywords:

• Asia-Pacific
• China
• Davos
• globalization
• PRC
• world economic forum

Notes

1. The genuflection to Charles Dickens may be a ‘coded’ reference. Marx was an admirer of Dickens and praised him in an article for The New-York Daily Tribune on 1 August 1854 (Marx 1854).

2. Xi Jinping’s father, Xi Zhongxun, (1913–2002), had been the deputy chair of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and also held the chair of the Legal Affairs Committee. He had been a loyal ally of Deng and had backed his economic reform policies, particularly vis a vis the ‘Four Modernizations,’ (sigexiandaihua) in Guangdong Province (see Gerwirtz 2016, 34).

3. See for example the London-based news magazine, The Economist (2017).

4. Xi Jinping had in fact used the term ‘contradictions’ in his Davos Speech, see above.

5. The Fire-Wall project was initiated in 1998 and began operations in 2003.

6. The economic growth-rate in the PRC has been falling in recent years. China’s economy began its current slowdown in 2011, after growing by 10.6% the previous year and it had fallen below 7% by the end of 2016. It could even go down to 6% in the coming years, or even less. It will need at least 6.5% growth per annum, however, to achieve the official target of doubling GDP per capita by 2012, which is what the Chinese Premier Li announced on 5 March 2017 to the National People’s Congress (NPC). Indeed: he stated that: ‘Significant policy adjustments are required in order for China’s growth to be sustainable.  Experience shows that transitioning from middle-income to high-income status can be more difficult than moving up from low to middle income’ (see World Bank 2016, 1).