Extra credit blog: China and globalization-CAI YAYU

 Is globalization good for China?

The answer is unquestionably yes. China is a country with a large population and globalization will enable it to solve the problem of over productivity, and it will facilitate industrial transformation and further harmonize regional development. Globalization is a phenomenon of human social development. The exchange of cultures and the movement of goods and capital promote cooperation between countries in political and economic trade. After the 1990s, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the break-up of the bipolar pattern, globalization saw a new high point in its development and continued until the US-China trade war in 2018. In recent years, globalization has hit a snag, encountering two main challenges, one of which is the decline in Sino-US relations and the other is the new crown epidemic. In the broader context, the US-China rivalry will hardly ease in the coming years. The new crown epidemic, on the other hand, with the help of the vaccine will probably be contained for some time to come, at least without affecting normal international exchanges. Therefore, the relationship between the US and China will determine the course of globalization in the coming period.

In the case of individual countries, the pros and cons of globalization will need to be weighed against national circumstances. For human society as a whole, globalization is generally beneficial. In the absence of major breakthroughs in basic science leading to revolutionary changes in productivity, the coordination of global resources and the promotion of an international division of lab our is a reasonable way to improve productivity. The disadvantages of globalization, however, are mainly caused by the problem of distribution, i.e., how to distribute the means of production and the products of lab ours. In the US-led globalization, the US dollar, as the global currency, has captured excessive profits for the US, while other countries are in a disadvantaged position and often have to pay a huge price for their economic development, especially those countries that are responsible for low-end manufacturing, such as China and some countries in Southeast Asia, which have to pay cheap lab our and huge environmental costs in order to obtain a meagre profit from manufacturing to develop their economies. In addition to the imbalances between countries, distribution problems can also lead to imbalances within a country. For example, in the United States, financial capital has gained higher profits in the process of globalization, while industrial capital has been forced to move to places where production costs are lower. Now that globalization has hit a snag, where does the future lie? And what should China do about it?

Is China good for globalization?

China is an economic promoter of globalization. Since the end of 1978, China has been implementing a new policy and strategy of reform and opening up, just in time to catch the third wave of economic globalization and to participate proactively in it. China has done four main things in the light of its own national realities. On the one hand, it has promoted its own development, and on the other hand, it has contributed to the further development of economic globalization.

　The first thing, by attracting investment through the establishment of special economic zones, has directly facilitated the large-scale flow of global capital to China, the major transfer of global industries to China and the improvement of the efficiency of the allocation of global product production. Beginning in 1979, China first built four special economic zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou in Guangdong and Xiamen in Fujian, followed by the Hainan Special Economic Zone. Then 14 more coastal cities were opened to the outside world and 15 free trade zones were built, and the Chinese mainland was gradually opened to the outside world.

　　Secondly, after 15 years of difficult negotiations, China joined the WTO in 2001, fully aligning its trade and investment rules with those of the world. China has become the most important global production base.

　　The third thing is that China has launched and promoted the construction of pilot free trade zones. Since 2013, China has set up 18 pilot FTZs across the country to significantly reduce tariffs, open up China's markets, improve the business environment and create better conditions for global economic factors to enter China.

　　The fourth thing is to advocate the construction of "One Belt, One Road" and encourage Chinese enterprises to go global, so as to combine "importing" and "going global" and promote a deeper and more comprehensive integration of the Chinese economy into the world. This will promote a deeper and more comprehensive integration of the Chinese economy into the world.

In terms of China's contribution to economic globalization, firstly, China imports a large amount of goods and services from a number of countries and regions around the world, contributing to the economic growth of these countries and regions as well as providing new jobs. second largest importer of goods in the world since 2009.