The world has already undergone a historic shift: China is now leading globalization. This explains the sudden “feeling left behind by globalization” trend in the West. It is also behind the utopian nationalist programs of the Trump and Brexit ilk: a desire to choose past greatness in “splendid isolation” in preference to becoming a mere partner in a multipolar world. In as far as the Anglosphere still talks of globalization it is done under the old “free-trade” label ignoring the fact that it is the international movement of capital which is the key element of globalization. The irony is that it is the US-UK in particular which most needs incoming capital investment and is therefore most likely to benefit from China-led globalization. Hence, the central issue of the moment: will Trump’s economic nationalist rhetoric give way to a more pragmatic approach and, in particular, a partnership with China?
22nd November, 2016
Leaders of 21 Asia-Pacific economies ended their annual meeting with a joint pledge to resist protectionism amid signs of increased free-trade skepticism.
The meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation organization, which accounts for 57 percent of the world economy, led to a joint statement on Sunday that asked to work toward adoption of the broader Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, a 21-economy pact that is favored by China.
“We reaffirm our commitment to keep our markets open and to fight against all forms of protectionism,” the leaders of the APEC economies said in the joint statement.
In These New Times 