“Cooperationisthemajortrend”
FuYing,spokespersonofthe5thSessionofthe12thNPC
CooperationisstillthemajortrendofChina-U.S.relations.SincesomeU.S.senatorshaveexpressedgreatconcernsaboutthewideningChina-U.S.tradedeficit,wehavemadesomeanalysesanddiscussedwiththem.So,nomatterwhat,weshouldsolveproblemsthroughfurtherexpandingthetradevolume.
“BeconfidentaboutChina-U.S.relations”
GaoHucheng,amemberoftheCPPCCNationalCommitteeanddeputydirectoroftheCPPCCSubcommitteeforHongKong,MacaoandTaiwanCompatriotsandOverseasChinese
In2016,thetotaltradevolumebetweenChinaandtheU.S.exceededUS$510billion,notincludingtransittrade.Currently,U.S.investmentinChinahasaddeduptoUS$87billion,whileChineseinvestmentintheU.S.hasgrownsovigorouslyinrecentyearsthatithassurpassedUS$50billion.Thetwocountriesareseeingsubstantialprogress,especiallyinthefieldsofpeople-to-peopleexchanges,theservicetrade,shipping,tourismandoverseaseducation.Inaddition,thetwocountrieshavestreamlinedtheirvisaprocesses.AplanetakesofftocrossthePacificOceanevery17minutes.Thus,IwouldbetthatatradewarisnotawiseoptionforeitherChinaortheU.S.Chinadoesn’twantatradewar,soIhopetheU.S.government,entrepreneursandpeopleofinsightwillthinkitovercarefully.Overthepast38years,sinceChinaandtheU.S.officiallyestablisheddiplomaticrelations,thetwocountrieshaveovercomemanyobstaclesandhaveneverstoppedmovingforwardsindevelopingtheirrelations.So,weshouldbeconfidentaboutthefutureofChina-U.S.relations.
“Addressdifficultiesinforeigntradebytransformingindustries”
YinZhongqing,amemberoftheNPCStandingCommitteeandvice-chairpersonoftheFinancialandEconomicAffairsCommitteeofthe12thNPC
China’sforeigntradeiscloselyrelatedtotheoverallinternationalsituation,aswellasthepoliciesoftheTrumpadministration.ChinabecameamemberoftheWTOin2001.AccordingtoArticle15oftheProtocolontheAccessionofthePeople’sRepublicofChina,theanti-dumpinginvestigationintoChina’sexportscanuse“methodologythatisnotbasedonastrictcomparisonwithdomesticpricesorcostsinChina.”Alsoaccordingtothisarticle,“theprovisionsshallexpire15yearsafterthedateofaccession,”whichmeansDecember2016.However,Chinahasyettoberecognizedasamarketeconomybysomecountries,amanifestationofsevereprotectionisminglobaltrade.ThoughtheuncertaintyconfrontingChina’sforeigntradein2017willbeunprecedented,developmentinrecentyearshasshownthatChina’sforeigntradeisdominatedbyitsownstructure.ThemajorproblemfacingChina’sforeigntradeatpresentisthatthetransformationofChina’sindustriesisnotyetfinished,andthereisalotofworktobedone.
“Chinaisnotafraidofatradewar”
ZhouHanmin,amemberoftheStandingCommitteeoftheCPPCCNationalCommitteeandvicechairmanoftheShanghaiCPPCCCommittee
GlobalizationisaverystrongtendencythathascontinuedverywellsincetheendofWorldWarII.ThatiswhytheIMF,theWorldBankandtheWTOhaveallplayedveryimportantrolesinpromotingglobaleconomicdevelopment.Ofcourse,ononehand,wecanidentifymanypositiveaspectsofglobalization.Ontheotherhand,wedorecognizethatglobalizationhasitsownshortcomings.Theshortcomingsshouldbeovercomeasitdevelops.Thereisnootherpossiblescenario.
TheChina-EUandChina-U.S.bilateraltradingpartnershipshavebenefitedallpartiesinvolvedverywell.Forinstance,Chinaistheworld’slargestmanufacturer,andthatiswhywehaveexportedsomanydifferentgoodsneededbypeopleintheU.S.andtheEU.Conversely,wehaveimportedatremendousamountofgoodsandservicesfromboththeU.S.andtheEU.Somecountriestrytoemphasizethedeficitontheirownside.However,theyfocusonlyonthetradeofgoods;ifyoutaketradeofservicesasanotherexample,thestoryisquitedifferent,becausethedeficitisontheChineseside,notontheEUortheU.S.
TheWTO,aswellasitspredecessortheGATT,hasplayedakeyroleinsolvingquitealotofproblemsasworldtradehasdeveloped.Thatiswhytheworldisstillinorder.Therefore,anymovementtowardswhatwecallanti-globalization,orcounter-globalization,willnotbefollowedorsupportedbyChina.Onthecontrary,Chinawillstillstronglysupporttheideaofglobalization,withitsmajorprincipleslikenationaltreatment,non-discriminativetreatment,openingupthemarket,andsoonandsoforth.
However,Chinaisnotafraidofatradewar.Asfarasatradewarisconcerned,itwilljeopardizeeverycountryintheworld,includingthecountryorthecountrygroupthatinitiatesthatkindoftradewar.However,therearenocircumstancesunderwhichChinawillinvolveitselfinaso-calledtradewar.Wewilldoourutmosttoavoidanysuchencounters.Theonlywaytosolveproblemsistotalk,todiscuss,tonegotiateandtocompromise.‘
“Internationaltradeisawin-winratherthanawin-losesituation”
KeBingsheng,amemberoftheCPPCCNationalCommitteeandpresidentofChinaAgriculturalUniversity
Freetradeenableseverycountrytomakebestuseofitsresourcesandtotakeadvantageofitscompetitivestrengths.ForChina,wecannotdiscounttrade,becauselookingatChinaaspartofthebiggerpicture,welacklandresourcesandwater.Forexample,soybeanimportsplayaveryimportantroleforChina.Somepeoplehavearguedthatwehaveimportedalotofsoybeans,butwehaveabigsupplyofmaizeandcorn.Whydowenotdecreaseourcornproductionandinsteadincreaseoursoybeanproduction?Thatisnotapoliticaldecision,andcannotbedecidedbythegovernment.Decisionsandadjustmentsofthiskindaremadebyfarmersthemselves.Ithinktheincomefactorisveryimportant.Ithinkitisapatternofinternationaltrade.Eachcountryproducesaccordingtoitsowncompetitiveadvantages.Now,internationally,wecanseeawin-winratherthanawin-losesituation.
“Promoteexportsofhigh-endproducts”
ZhouGuohui,anNPCdeputyanddirectoroftheScienceandTechnologyDepartmentofZhejiangProvince
Accordingtothecurrentsituation,tradeprotectionismwillprobablyaffectChina’sexportsforalongtime.Sincetheinternationalenvironmentisuncertain,wehavetochangebyadjustingourtradestructureandreformingrelatedexportrules.Inrecentyears,exportsofhigh-endproductshaveincreasedinZhejiangProvince,butthisisstillnotenough.Themajorityofthemarestilllow-andmiddle-endproducts.Thus,wehavetofurtherimprovethetechnologicalandculturalcontentofourexports.
“TheAnti-globalizationtrendwillinfluenceglobaltrade”
KongXiaoyan,anNPCdeputyanddirectoroftheTianjinPropertyRightsExchange
BrexitandTrump’selectionaretwoofthemajoroutcomesofanti-globalization,anincreasinglypopulartrend.Somecountrieshaveblindlyblamedglobalizationfortheirdomesticproblems.Animportantpartofglobalizationistrade.Asaresult,globaltradewillsufferinonewayoranotherfromthistrend,meaningthatChina’sforeigntradewilldefinitelyencountermoreproblems.
“ProtectionismhasnoFuture”
LiRuogu,amemberoftheCPPCCNationalCommitteeandformerpresidentoftheExport-ImportBankofChina
Ithinkitisveryhardtopredictthatprotectionismhasafuture.Ithinktheworldeconomyhasbeenglobalized.Itisdifficulttogobackonthat,butwearecertainlyfacingsomedifficultiesatthismoment.Wewillfacesomesetbacks.Buteventually,Ithinkthatinternationaltradeandeconomiccooperationcannotbestopped.Globalizationisthefutureofworldeconomicdevelopment.So,basedonverygeneralcommentsofthiskind,IthinkthattradebetweenChinaandtheUnitedStates,Europeorothercountriesandregionsmayexperiencesomedeclineordifficulties.Butinthefuture,IthinkthatastheeconomydevelopsandEuropeovercomestheinfluenceofitsfinancialcrisis,globaltrade,aswellasChina’stradewithEuropeandAmerica,willhaveabrighterfuture.
“Tradeprotectionismwillimpedetheprogressofhumancivilization”
JiaKang,amemberoftheCPPCCNationalCommitteeandarenownedeconomist
TraderelationsbetweenChina,theU.S.andEuropearethemostimportantpartnershipsintheworld.Chinaisadevelopingcountry,whereastheU.S.andtheEUaredevelopedeconomies.Butthesemultilateralrelationsbenefiteachother,andarecarriedoutaccordingto“comparativeadvantage.”Certainly,therearesomecompetitionsandconflicts.Butwin-winsituationsarethenorm.NotonlyChina,butalsotheU.S.andEuropecangainfromthiskindof“inclusivegrowth,”whileothereconomiescanbedriventodevelop.
Therefore,weneedtopayattentiontothetrendofprotectionism.Tradeprotectionismwillhinderthedevelopmentofhumansocietyandimpedetheprogressofhumancivilization.Itisveryinterestingthatdevelopedeconomies,whichpreviouslyappealedforgreateropenness,nowtendtopromoteprotectionism.Ithinkthisturnisunreasonable.Allpartiesshouldrecognizethatmovementtowardswin-wincooperationistheprimarydirectionofworlddevelopment.Andmorenegotiationsanddeepercooperationaretheonlywaytoovercomethepresentdifficulties.
“Atradewarwouldhurtboth”
ChiFulin,amemberoftheCPPCCNationalCommitteeandpresidentoftheHainan-basedChinaInstituteforReformandDevelopment
SincetheTrumpadministrationpromised“AmericaFirst”andtradeprotectionismsprangupworldwide,atradewarbetweenChinaandtheU.S.hasseemedunavoidabletosomeextent.However,itwillhurtusboth.Forexample,PresidentTrumphasdeclaredhewillimpose45-percenttariffsonimportsfromChina,whichwouldnotbegoodfortheU.S.either.Thus,itislikelythattheU.S.willdecideagainstiteventually.
Thisyear,manyEuropeancountrieswillholdnationalelections,whichwillincreasecomplicationsanduncertaintiesforglobaltrade.Insuchcircumstances,ChinashouldstrengthenitscooperationwiththeEU,especiallyininvestmentagreementnegotiations,theBeltandRoadInitiativeanddiscussionsonthefeasibilityofaChina-EUfreetradezone,whicharenotonlyimportantfortheEUandChina,butalsoforimprovingthestructureofglobalgovernance.
“Chinashouldactivelysafeguarditsrightsintheinternationalcommunity”
ZongQinghou,anNPCdeputyandchairmanofWahahaGroup
TherecoveryoftheworldeconomylargelyreliesonChina,notviceversa.So,nocountryhastheabilitytoimposeeconomicsanctionsonChina,norwouldtheydareto.Ononehand,weshouldresolutelyimplementourpolicyofopeningupandunswervinglysupportglobalization;ontheotherhand,Chinashouldsafeguarditsownlegitimaterightsandseekjointdevelopmentthroughglobaltraderulesandcountermeasuresonforeigntradeundertheprincipleofequalityandmutualbenefit.