Economic myths, a provocative US-China debate, renewable energy
Selection of China backgrounds | perspectives | context | news
China21 Journal regularly selects a number of publications from (social) media for more background, perspective, context or news about China.
#economy #market #consumerconfidence
China Is Still Rising - Don’t Underestimate the World’s Second-Biggest Market
Nicholas R. Lardy, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics
Published in Foreign Affairs Magazine, April 2, 2024
“For over two decades, China’s phenomenal economic performance impressed and alarmed much of the world, including the United States, its top trading partner. But since 2019, China’s sluggish growth has led many observers to conclude that China has already peaked as an economic power. President Joe Biden said as much in his State of the Union address in March: “For years, I’ve heard many of my Republican and Democratic friends say that China is on the rise and America is falling behind. They’ve got it backwards.”
Those who doubt that China’s rise will continue point to the country’s weak household spending, its declining private investment, and its entrenched deflation. Sooner than overtake the United States, they argue, China would likely enter a long recession, perhaps even a lost decade.
But this dismissive view of the country underestimates the resilience of its economy. Yes, China faces several well documented headwinds, including a housing market slump, restrictions imposed by the United States on access to some advanced technologies, and a shrinking working-age population. But China overcame even greater challenges when it started on the path of economic reform in the late 1970s. While its growth has slowed in recent years, China is likely to expand at twice the rate of the United States in the years ahead.”
Read more in article how Nicholas Lardy is pointing out the following five misconceptions in the general media and political views on the Chinese economy ;
The Chinese economy’s progress in converging with the size of the U.S. economy has stalled.
Household income, spending, and consumer confidence in China is weak.
Price deflation has become entrenched in China, putting the country on course toward recession.
The potential for a collapse in property investment.
Chinese entrepreneurs are discouraged and moving their money out of the country
#economy #market #consumerconfidence
The truth about China’s economy: Debunking Western media myths
Michael Dunford, Emeritus professor at University of Sussex's School of Global Studies and a visiting professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research in Beijing
Published in Geopolitical Economy Report, March 28, 2024
Another recent publication about misreadings of China’s economy is the video podcast by the Geopolitical Economy Report with Michael Dunford to discuss China’s economy and debunk Western media myths, addressing accusations that consumption is too low, fears of “Japanification”, the role of exports, and the new Chinese growth strategy. Transcript of the video podcast is available in article.
#geopolitics #uschinarelations #globalorder
The United States, China, and the Future of the Global Order
Asia Society Policy Institute hosted a discussion on the U.S.-China relationship and how it impacts global trends. Speakers included Kishore Mahbubani, Distinguished Fellow at National University of Singapore's Asia Research Institute; and Orville Schell, Arthur Ross director of the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations.
Rorry Daniels, managing director of Asia Society Policy Institute, moderated the conversation.
New York, March 21, 2024
Some extracts of the debate which Professor Kishore Mahbubani called a provocative yet civil dialogue.
“What the world is asking is what exactly does the United States want to accomplish in this contest, and what will be the ending.”
“12 percent of the world's population lives in the West but 88 percent of the world’s population lives outside the West. And let me make one point very clearly and very boldly at the very beginning, how the 12 percent views China is not how the 88 percent views China”
“The West needs to accept that China has risen”
The debate confirmed the very different views and intentions on the US-China relation and emergence of the new global order.
#renewableenergy #solarenergy #windenergy #coal
How China Became the World’s Leader on Renewable Energy
Isabel Hilton, founder and former editor of China Dialogue (China climate and environment news),
Published in Yale Envionment 360, an online magazine by the Yale School of Environment, March 13, 2024
“When the International Energy Authority issued its assessment of the pledge to triple renewables globally by 2030, it pointed out that the 50 percent increase in global renewable installations in 2023 was largely driven by China. In 2022, China installed roughly as much solar photovoltaic capacity as the rest of the world combined, then went on in 2023 to double new solar installations, increase new wind capacity by 66 percent, and almost quadruple additions of energy storage.
Within a decade, China had largely achieved its goal of dominating not only the production of solar and wind technologies, but it had developed a near monopoly on every aspect of the supply chains, including the mining and processing of the rare-earths and strategic minerals essential for the clean energy revolution. Today, China has more than 80 percent of the world’s solar manufacturing capacity. The extraordinary scale of China’s renewables sector output has driven down prices worldwide, and this is a key factor in reducing the cost barrier to renewable systems for poorer countries. Today China not only holds important positions in wind and battery technologies, but a Chinese company, BYD, has become the world’s biggest EV manufacturer, and China is poised to pose a formidable global challenge in all aspects of electric transportation to established vehicle brands.
Renewables now account for half of China’s installed capacity, but there has also been a surge in permits for new coal-fired power plants, and China still generates about 70 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels. This means actual renewable energy use is lagging behind installed capacity.
To use its renewables capacity efficiently however, China has recognized that power system reforms are long overdue. The National Development and Reform Commission recently announced plans to create a unified national power market by 2030, merging its six regional grids into one nationwide electricity market to better manage fluctuations in supply and demand. If that can be achieved, China could not only enhance its position as the global leader in installed capacity for renewable but might also make better use of the clean energy it produces.”