The Front Row Podcast #45- Professor Elizabeth Ingleson : How America and China Transformed Global Trade
Jul 14, 2025
Join historian Elizabeth Ingleson, a professor at LSE and author of 'Made in China,' as she delves into the critical shift in US-China trade dynamics since the 1970s. She discusses Nixon's pivotal policies and how American firms redefined China from a consumer base to a labor force. Discover the impact of the 1974 Trade Act and the devaluation of American labor. Ingleson also explores the current tensions in US-China relations and offers sage advice for graduates on balancing work and personal life while making a positive impact.
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Pre-1978 Roots of China's Opening
- The shifts Deng Xiaoping made in 1978 were enabled by earlier economic and capitalist changes happening globally and in China itself.\n- Experimentations within China during the Cultural Revolution and capitalist shifts in the West facilitated China's integration into global capitalism.
Nixon Shocks Transformed Global Trade
- The Nixon shocks in 1971 were orchestrated sudden moves impacting US-China relations and the global economy.\n- Ending Bretton Woods and opening China accelerated offshore manufacturing and global economic shifts.
From Market to Labor Source
- In the 1970s China shifted from seeing itself as a market of consumers to a source of cheap labor for global export.\n- This shift paved the way for multinational corporations to establish manufacturing in China later.
