Senior Chinese policy makers are very enthusiastic about forcing China to open up. But it's not at all clear if you start looking at the Western side, that's what they really want. Mr Trump just wants trade to be balanced, but there is important elements in the US who want to disintegrate the economy with China. That's not what they want at all. They want it to be locked out,. And another indicator is that it's becoming seriously difficult for Chinese companies to buy Western companies. Now, we say that they have obstacles to us, we sure are creating obstacles for them. So we have to decide... Do we want to open up China, which is probably in their interest?
Is China, with its unfair trade policies and shameless theft of intellectual property, an enemy that needs to be reined in? Or is it in the West’s best interests to view China as a strategic partner and aim for mutual respect and cooperation?
We were joined by Beijing-born Professor of Economics at the LSE Keyu Jin; politician and former cabinet minister Sir Malcolm Rifkind; and Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the FT. The event was chaired by Carrie Gracie, BBC News Presenter and the BBC’s first China Editor.
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