Photo: Róbert Hegedüs
Mariann Őry
21/06/2023 08:15
- While the gravity of the economy is clearly shifting towards the East, the United States is becoming increasingly aggressive towards China, treating it as a rival. Is this inevitable?
- Many people think it is but don’t think it’s necessary. Looking back to the 1990s, even American politicians regarded China’s economic rise as beneficial for all. I think it’s quite difficult to understand why the attitude has changed so rapidly. The global economy is big enough for China to re-emerge. Even though China is now the world’s second-largest economy, I think most Chinese consider themselves a middle-income country, and also American politicians tend to exaggerate China’s strength. The country still has a lot to catch up on.
„Nobody can stop the process of modernising the Chinese economy.
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- How do you see the prospects of the renminbi’s internationalisation?
- Eventually, the renminbi is definitely going to be one of the major global currencies in fifteen-twenty years. The two fundamental determinators are the size of China’s GDP and its share of global trade. We should also look at the country’s financial system; the minimum requirement is that the currency can be used to pay for purchases in investment.
- How do you evaluate French President Emmanuel Macron’s trip to China? Was it a sign that Europe was articulating its interests independent from the US?
- I think his visit to China reminded us that there should never be one single voice speaking for the Western world. Europe’s point of view is very different from the US’s when it comes to China’s growing economic power. In the very short run, politics determine the economy, but in the long run, I think the economy matters much more.
„Europe’s point of view is very different from the US’s when it comes to China’s growing economic power.
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- What is Europe’s interest in its relations with China?
- Europe can benefit from China’s rise, and its increasing capacities can improve the living standards in Europe too. Europe’s current problems, like the high inflation or the energy crisis, may not be simply solved without China’s participation. One of the European countries, France or Germany, needs to play the leading role in maintaining the ties. The economic rise of China is a phenomenon that is inevitable. Nobody can stop the process of modernising the Chinese economy. But China also needs Europe because even though its GDP is almost the same as the EU’s, the per-capita GDP is only about a quarter of the EU’s.
The author is editor of Eurasia Magazine