In this engaging discussion, Andy Liu, an Associate Professor of History at Villanova University, dives into the parallels between U.S.-China trade tensions today and those of the 1980s. He explores how Cold War geopolitics shaped trade relations, what lessons China learned from Japan, and Xi Jinping's vision for the economy. Liu highlights China's shift towards a Ford-like industrial structure and critiques the Trump administration's use of tariffs, offering a historical context to current trade dynamics.
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Trump's Consistent Trade Concerns
Trump's views on China echo his 1980s criticism of Japan, focusing on trade practices and economic threats.
A resurfaced Oprah clip shows Trump raising similar concerns about Japan's trade practices decades ago.
insights INSIGHT
Geopolitics and Trade
The US-Japan trade war was influenced by Cold War geopolitics, where Japan served as a strategic ally against communism.
This contrasts with the current US-China tension, where economic competition is a more central factor.
insights INSIGHT
Plaza Accords and Japan's Stagnation
The 1985 Plaza Accords pressured Japan to revalue its currency, leading to a domestic economic bubble and eventual stagnation.
This example highlights the potential unintended consequences of trade interventions.
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This book explores the case of the British-Indian and Chinese tea industry, focusing on competitive interdependent ties forged by trade and the historically contingent outcomes. It argues that seemingly traditional technologies and practices were central to modern capital accumulation across Asia. Liu examines how competitive pressures led to labor intensification and the adoption of industrial conceptions of time in China, while colonial planters in India implemented labor indenture laws to support factory-style tea plantations. The book challenges euro-centric accounts of capitalist accumulation and offers a non-Eurocentric theory of capitalist development, highlighting the global character of capitalism throughout its history[1][2][4].
Trade Wars Are Class Wars
How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace
Adam Tooze
In 'Trade Wars Are Class Wars,' Adam Tooze argues that the current trade tensions and conflicts are deeply rooted in issues of inequality and class. He examines how the global economy has been shaped by these factors, leading to significant economic and social tensions that threaten international peace. The book provides a comprehensive look at the intersection of economic policy, social inequality, and geopolitical relations.
This week on Sinica, I chat with economic historian Andrew B. Liu of Villanova University about how to understand Trump's thinking on China and tariffs. Andy wrote about this in an excellent piece on N+1 called "Back to the 80s? Trump, Xi Jinping, and Tariffs." Check it out and then listen to the show!
3:59 – How the U.S.’s current trade anxieties echo those of the ‘80s
9:34 – How Cold War geopolitics shaped U.S.-Japan trade relations
18:23 – The lessons China learned from Japan’s experience and how it has shaped its recent economic strategy
21:03 – What Xi Jinping’s vision for the Chinese economy actually looks like
34:26 – Why China is favoring a more Ford-like model of industrial structure
41:28 – Michael Pettis’s ideas from Trade Wars Are Class Wars and points of critique
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