Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Liu Jianchao made a keynote speech at the FutureChina Dialogue 2024 on 27 March co-organised by Business China Singapore, Lianhe Zaobao and ThinkChina. He spoke about Asia’s role amid turbulence and the realignments of relationships among major countries of the world, and China’s role in engaging with the region and working together to build better lives for their peoples. This is an edited transcript of his speech.
Decoupling
Politics
Amid China’s top diplomat Wang Yi’s stern warnings against “de-sinicisation in the name of de-risking” at the recent Munich Security Conference, academic Alessandro Arduino asks: is China prepared to alter its international relations playbook?
Politics
While the US focuses on the competitive dimension of the relationship and emphasises the need to manage competition responsibly, China stresses a win-win outcome of the relationship through cooperation, says US academic Zhu Zhiqun. Will it be “never the twain shall meet” for the US and China?
Economy
Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu notes that after ten years, the BRI has a somewhat mixed report card. Some analysts say that the BRI has helped some countries, while others observe that progress has sometimes come at a cost, ranging from heavy debt to other indirect effects such as corruption and environmental damage.
Politics
Mutual mistrust and fear between China and foreign countries is mounting, especially amid the self-imposed travel restrictions on both sides for high-level executives. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Han Yong Hong assesses that such developments are accelerating the decoupling between China and foreign countries, with little hope for reversal.
Economy
Recent economic indicators have signalled that China’s economy is bottoming out, but many still believe that more needs to be done as the effect of government policies are still falling short of expectations. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing speaks with analysts and academics to find out what China needs to do to avoid economic stagnation or even a collapse.
Economy
EAI academic Chen Gang notes that although the Chinese authorities are against the Western notion of “de-risking”, it has itself taken steps to de-risk, with ASEAN overtaking Europe and the US as China’s largest trade partner. As major countries are gaining ground in their de-risking strategies, the global south is set to benefit.
Technology
The China-US tech war has heated up again as China imposes export restrictions on two rare metals widely used in strategic emerging industries. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu notes that this is a tit-for-tat move against the US for its export restriction of advanced chips and chipmaking technology to China. How will this latest move in the tech war affect the semiconductor industry and China-US relations?
Economy
While Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu have been doing well in achieving fast and high growth in the US market, they face commercial and regulatory challenges too and would need to undertake several risk mitigation strategies.