Chinese scholars and experts said the US’ approach to international order has disrupted global economic development and industrial chain cooperation, which is harmful to the post-epidemic global economic recovery and called on the US to remove additional tariffs and abandon trade protectionism at a forum organized by a top Chinese think tank on global development on Tuesday.
Organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), with the theme of Global Development Initiative A People-Centered Development Agenda, the forum brought together over 50 scholars and experts from think tanks and international institutions to address issues on global development, including economic recovery, inclusive development, scientific innovation and global development of win-win cooperation.
The approach by the US to global development has completely ignored the interests of the world as a whole and the common interests of other countries by putting unilateral restrictions on economic activities in other countries with its long arm jurisdiction and protectionism, Yao Zhizhong, Deputy Director of Institute of World Economics and Politics, CASS said at the forum.
“A good international order needs to be based on the purpose of the interest of all, be inclusive and not divided on ideology and political regime,” Yao remarked.
As the world’s factory, China has been a key component of the global value chain, an advocate of global cooperation and is willing to create joint development opportunities with others, which is not the case with the US, Zhong Feiteng, Head of Department of the Great Power Relations Studies under the National Institute of International Strategy of the CASS, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
But the US-proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework or other regional economic cooperation plans, which it highlights under a foundation of “common values,” serve more the interests of the US rather than the real development needs of other countries, Zhong said.
Constantly pushing for industrial chain decoupling or trade conflicts with China and forcing other countries to pick sides will only have a negative impact on the economic development of these countries, Zhong added.
At the forum, some experts called the US to remove the protectionist tariffs to ease global inflation.
The current global inflation is facing a serious crisis. The US consumer price index rose 8.6 percent in May from a year ago and UK’s inflation hit a new 40-year high of 9.1 percent.
The removal of US tariffs on products from other countries, including China, can be an effective tool to ease inflationary pressures, Pei Changhong, a research fellow with the CASS said.
Data show that the US has suffered a major setback by imposing additional tariffs on China.
“The US has borne over 90 percent of the cost of additional tariffs on Chinese goods, most of which has been transferred to US importers,” Pei said.
To restore world economic growth, experts have agreed that efforts should be made to build a global partnership for development that is united, equitable, balanced and beneficial to all, and promote mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.
“Priority must be given to development instead of politicizing development issues or imposing extreme sanctions and forcing industrial chains to decouple,” Zhao Qi, Secretary-general of the CASS, said at the forum.
During the event, the China-proposed Global Development Initiative (GDI) was hailed by Chinese and foreign participants to help tackle challenges for global development.
The China-proposed GDI called for countries to work together to steer global development toward a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth, as the world faces the combined impacts of changes unseen in a century and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The GDI, with its people-centered and inclusive approaches, is expected to guide practical cooperation and inject strong impetus to addressing challenges in global development, Zhao said.
Experts also addressed the problems of unbalanced and inadequate development and called on bridging the digital and technological divide to contribute to global sustainable development.
File Photo:VCG
