Solidarity and mutual trust between China, US are required

March 20 , 2020

Challenges in the implementation of the China-US economic and trade deal have emerged as the global supply chain is now at the brink of crashing under the #CoronaOutbreak, as the global economy shows signs of recession, oil prices plummet, and the US stock market melts down.

China is supposed to purchase $200 billion worth of goods from the US, including agricultural products and services, according to the phase-one deal signed on Jan. 16. However, affected by the epidemic outbreak, the purchases are less likely to be completed, because the US side may be unable to deliver in time.

Thus, we need accommodation terms for the emergency response in the first, second, and maybe the third quarter assessment, suggested Cui Fan, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in an online seminar on China-US cooperation and the global economic impact amid the war against COVID-19, held on Thursday by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG).

As the epidemic ends in China, China has now become the major supplier of medical supplies for other hard-hit countries and regions. In addition, most Chinese enterprises have returned to work since early March.

This has enhanced China’s status as a global supplier, not weakened it. The epidemic is also a rarely seen chance for China and the US to seek further cooperation in the medical and biological health fields, commented Teng Jianqun, director of the Department for American Studies at China Institute of International Studies.

Mutual dependence and reliance is the internal impetus that can save the China-US relationship, which unfortunately has worsened due to some spats over the stigma that the US side has imposed on the origin of the novel coronavirus. The term “Chinese virus,” tweeted by US President Donald Trump, discriminates against all Chinese, not only the Chinese people in China. This is very dangerous for strategic cooperation, warned Teng.

There is panic and desperation in the international community and the risk of China-US decoupling is rising. What matters most is to stop blaming and to prepare for the fight as one, said Xia Liping, dean of the Institute of International and Public Affairs at Tongji University.

Reducing bilateral tariffs can be a booster to speed up economic reconstruction. China and the US could implement zero tariffs on many items, such as medicine, masks, and disinfection equipment. It is important to strengthen technological cooperation in research and development of vaccines and to expand the scale of trade, especially in terms of medical devices, materials, and equipment, rather than to spit at each other in this critical moment, suggested Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the Economic Policy Committee at China Policy Science Research Society.

A political vacuum in the global defense is much more lethal than an economic recession. Thus, it is necessary to set up a high-level dialogue mechanism in the international community, Xu added.

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Center for China and Globalization

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