In an astonishing display of rhetorical hubris, US President Joe Biden recently unleashed a fusillade of criticism aimed squarely at China,
dubbing it a “ticking time bomb” during a political fundraising event
in Utah last week. Such rhetoric, laden with inaccuracies and sensationalism,
raises pertinent questions: Is it indeed China that warrants this ominous
label, or could it be the United States that teeters on the precipice of global economic instability?
Biden’s verbal missteps are manifold, revealing an
astonishing lack of exactitude when discussing China’s economic trajectory. His
misinformed and misleading references to China’s growth rate and demographic
trends betray a superficial grasp of the complex factors shaping China’s
economic landscape. There is no doubt that July presented a mixed picture that
left analysts squinting for clarity about China’s financial numbers. The
Consumer Price Index (CPI) took a peculiar route: it stumbled year-on-year, yet
pirouetted from a previous month’s slump to a surprising reversal. The July
CPI, once a stagnant year-on-year fixture, now exhibits a modest 0.3 percent
dip. And analysts contend that this downward trajectory could be a transient
occurrence. Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index (PPI) had its own pas de deux,
plunging 4.4 percent year-on-year. Concurrently, the offshore renminbi slipped
below 7.3 against the US dollar on August 15, marking its lowest ebb since
2023. These economic notes, twined with the renminbi’s recent descent, have
struck discordant chords in Western media. Amidst this chorus, US President Joe Biden dubbed China, constrained by relatively sluggish growth in second
quarter, a ticking “time bomb”.
But other data shows that, despite continued direct and
indirect US pressure, the initial six months of 2023 defy the odds, boasting a
staggering 35.7 percent surge in fresh foreign-backed ventures in China – a
robust 24,000 in total. High-tech sectors also revel in a 7.9 percent
investment uptick, driving their share to a notable 39.4 percent, up by 3.9
percentage points. The tumultuous current of transient economic data and
Western media critiques holds no sway in disparaging China’s steadfast economic
trajectory in the post-pandemic period. Biden’s claim that China’s recent
economic numbers make it vulnerable to decline carries an air of ignorance and
prejudice.
“Should the notion of a ‘ticking time bomb’ indeed resonate as a motif, it finds its ironic resonance more aptly in the realm of US economic affairs.”
This is not the first instance of US politicians resorting
to the ‘Chicken Little’ tactic, talking about China’s imminent economic
collapse only to be proven wrong time and again. Regrettably, this tactic seems
to have become a staple in the playbook of electioneering, an alluring strategy
to attract public attention through the vilification of China. In this
disconcerting race, the true casualty is factual accuracy.
Should the notion of a “ticking time bomb” indeed
resonate as a motif, it finds its ironic resonance more aptly in the realm of
US economic affairs. As evidenced by Fitch Ratings‘ recent downgrading of the
United States’ debt rating from AAA to AA+, the country’s economic trajectory
is far from stellar. Fitch’s sobering appraisal attributed this devaluation not
to a mere isolated bout of partisan wrangling over the debt ceiling but rather
to a protracted decline in governance standards over the course of two decades.
This conspicuous erosion pertains specifically to the fiscal and debt
dimensions, signifying a chronic predicament rather than a transient hiccup.
Contrasting these realities, one is compelled to discern the
glaring disparities between China’s measured resilience in the face of global
adversities and the United States’ own vulnerability. The Chinese economy,
while not immune to the challenges posed by the pandemic, has demonstrated an
impressive capacity to adapt and persevere. Overcoming hurdles such as youth
unemployment and bolstering domestic consumption, China has displayed economic
robustness far from the notion of a “ticking time bomb.”
In the January-July period, fixed-asset investment–a gauge
of expenditures on items including infrastructure, property, machinery and
equipment-grew by 3.4 percent compared with a year earlier. China, the world’s
second-largest economy, witnessed a growth rate of 5.5 percent in the first
half, as per data from the National Bureau of Statistics. However, the
quarter-on-quarter expansion fell to a mere 0.8 percent. Such a modest slowdown
is exacerbated by an array of challenges, both internal and external in nature.
As expected, western media outlets, quick to pounce on any weakness, have
characterized the second-quarter growth as feeble. But their propagation is
misleading.
The fragility of its economic governance, coupled with its unilateral disruptions to the international order, paints a bleak picture that starkly contrasts with China’s measured resilience.
As the Chinese economy navigates its way through challenges,
seasoned economists and analysts remain sanguine about its overall trajectory,
foreseeing a high likelihood of achieving the targeted growth rate. With China
having set a 5 percent GDP growth target for 2023, the Chinese leadership also
pragmatically acknowledges the hurdles awaiting in the second phase of
recovery. The Chinese government has been proactive, orchestrating a series of
prompt and astute actions to tackle the situation head-on.
Conversely, a
dispassionate evaluation of the United States’ actions on the global stage
yields disconcerting results. The American penchant for unilateralism and
protectionism has triggered big disruptions across industries and supply chains,
imparting grave repercussions upon the global economy. It is the United States’
geopolitical maneuvering, marked by its fervent embrace of destabilizing
tactics and machinations, that poses the major impediment to a flourishing
global economic landscape. In light of these assessments, it is with an ironic
twist that Biden’s words turn inward. The United States’ penchant forpolarization, fiscal imprudence, and bellicose international conduct portrays a
nation precariously situated on a veritable time bomb of its own making. The
fragility of its economic governance, coupled with its unilateral disruptions
to the international order, paints a bleak picture that starkly contrasts with
China’s measured resilience. As the world watches, it becomes evident that the
real “ticking time bomb” is not an external adversary, but an
internal quagmire fueled by short-sightedness, hubris, and neglect. If Biden’s
aim is to scrutinize such a volatile concept, he might be prudent to reassess
his comments, for it is the United States, not China, that symbolizes the
disquieting idea of an imminent disruption on the global economic platform.
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