China's Pursuit of a New Economic Order
A change in the world economic order certainly fits in with what we cover here on this blog which is potential monetary system change. This article by the Director of the China Center for Economic Studies talks about how China is trying to remake the world economic order more in its favor. We continue to note however, that virtually every credible Chinese official or expert that touches on this topic talks in terms of a slow and gradual process over many years. Below are some quotes from this article by Zhang Jun.
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"Economists are increasingly divided over China’s economic future.
Optimists emphasize its capacity for learning and rapid accumulation of
human capital. Pessimists focus on the rapid decline of its demographic
dividend, its high debt-to-GDP ratio, the contraction of its export
markets, and its industrial overcapacity. But both groups neglect a more
fundamental determinant of China’s economic prospects: the world order.
The question is simple: Can China sustain rapid GDP growth within the
confines of the current global order, including its trade rules, or must
the current US-dominated order change drastically to accommodate
China’s continued economic rise? The answer, however, remains unclear.
One way that China is attempting to find out is by pushing to have the renminbi added to
the basket of currencies that determine the value of the International
Monetary Fund’s reserve asset, the Special Drawing Right (SDR). As it
stands, that basket comprises the euro, the Japanese yen, the British
pound, and the US dollar.
The SDR issue was the audience’s main concern when IMF Managing Director
Christine Lagarde spoke in Shanghai in April. Her stance – that it is
just a matter of time before the renminbi is added to the basket –
garnered considerable media attention. (Regrettably, however, the media
read too much into her statement.)
Former US Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke faced the same question in
Shanghai last month. He was purposely vague in his response: the
renminbi’s inclusion in the SDR would be a positive step, he said, but
it could not be taken until China makes much more progress in reforming
its financial sector and transforming its growth model."
. . . .
"From China’s perspective, sustained domestic economic growth seems unlikely within the existing global system
– a challenge that Japan and the other East Asian economies did not
encounter during their economic rise. Indeed, the only country that has
encountered it is the US, when it replaced the UK as the world’s
dominant economic and financial power before World War II; fortunately,
that precedent is one of accommodation and a peaceful transition.
To
be sure, China still needs to undertake important domestic reforms,
especially of the financial sector, in order to eliminate distortions in
resource allocation and stem the economy’s slowdown. But the refusal by
China’s leaders to pursue export-boosting currency depreciation, even
in the face of decelerating growth, suggests that they are willing to
make the needed sacrifices to secure the renminbi’s international role
and, with it, long-term economic growth and prosperity.
Whether or not the renminbi is added to the SDR basket this October, a gradual transformation of the global system to accommodate China seems all but inevitable."
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