'Beijing consensus' has increasing global value
- By Zhang Yugui
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 26, 2015
However, the American economy has gone from occupying half the share of the world economy 70 years ago to occupying less than a quarter of it today. Notably, the total economic activity of the BRICS countries equals that of the United States, and China's total economy is equal to 60 percent of that of the United States. China also comes first on the list of global foreign exchange reserves countries. The weakening of American economic strength is not only making Wall Street financial oligarchs restless, but it is also making strategists like Zbigniew Brzezinski worried about American supremacy.
Moreover, many developing countries have made dramatic progress despite a slow pace in some periods, and the trend continues to develop. This is what the existing "global leaders" are worried about. From this perspective, it is no wonder that the United States is keeping particularly alert about China's "Belt and Road" initiatives. It is also natural for the United States to be wary of the AIIB.
These days, because of the acceptance of the "Beijing consensus" and China's growing economic strength, China is trying to provide the international community with public institutions that are different from those of the United States. Although China's actions won't overturn the existing international economic and financial order, they are still causing an unbalance between superpowers.
The White House should better conform to the spirit of the times. What China seeks is to establish a pattern of sharing the mechanisms of international economic and financial power in order to promote global economic development. After all, Britain, German, Italy and other European industrial powers don't lack wisdom. The joint efforts of Asian and European countries to join the AIIB are unlikely to amount to strategic misjudgments. Big countries will never give themselves up to blind emotions because they must focus on national interests and regional economic cooperation.
Asia has not yet formed a community of common destiny, but the establishment of a multilateral cooperation platform primarily through the creation of AIIB and other institutions is undoubtedly a step in that direction.
Zhang Yugui is a professor and dean of the School of Economics and Finance at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).
This article was translated by Li Jingrong. Its original unabridged version was published in Chinese.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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