China’s ‘exceptionalism’ and a Western trade war
Fallout from the G7 summit illustrates the problems facing Beijing and its economic policies
President Xi Jinping has stoked the flames of nationalism and now his “China Dream” risks being burnt in the inferno.
Instead of playing the geopolitical long game, he has opened a Pandora’s Box with his nationalistic brand of popular “exceptionalism.” The fallout has been deafening.
Last week at the Group of Seven summit in Italy’s rustic region of Puglia, the air was turned red as the G7 of major nations debated the “China problem.”
Hardly an issue escaped condemnation amid Beijing’s trade tactics, its close relationship with Moscow, and its antics in the South China Sea.
“Is China prepared to be locked in a trade war with the entire Western world,” Abishur Prakash, the founder of The Geopolitical Business, asked in his latest video after the European Union joined the United States in rolling out punitive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
Flashpoints:
- On Wednesday, the EU imposed tariffs of up to 48% on heavily subsidized EVs from the world’s second-largest economy.
- In May, the United States slapped 100% tariffs in response to China’s “unfair trade practices.”
- On Friday, Beijing was also “hammered” over its industrial model and its links to Moscow’s war machine in Ukraine.
They are trying to divide the world into different camps.
Global Times
Delve deeper: “We call on China to cease the transfer of dual-use materials, including weapons components and equipment, that are inputs for Russia’s defense sector,” the G7 leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US said in an end-of-summit statement, backed by the EU.
Between the lines: Earlier, Washington waded into the trade war. “China’s unfair trade practices concerning technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation are threatening American businesses and workers,” The White House warned before rolling out EV tariffs.
The bottom line: But Chinese state-run Global Times accused the G7 of “baseless accusations against China in several areas, including the Ukraine crisis, cyber security, the Taiwan question, the South China Sea and human rights issues.”
What was said: “China was mentioned more than 20 times throughout the document. The G7 also expressed concerns about China’s ‘overcapacity,’ and threatened to retaliate through export restrictions … They are trying to divide the world into different camps using the Ukraine crisis as an opportunity,” Global Times reported.
China Factor comment: Comrade Xi’s popular “exceptionalism” has turned the ruling Communist Party into a “malign force,” which threatens the economies of the US and its G7 allies. Beijing’s military bullying in the South China Sea and its backing of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only added to West’s hardline stance.