“We’re talking about losing significant parts of the automotive sector and its supply chains, pressure on machine tools, chemicals, the wind industry in Europe that could be wiped out in the next couple of years. I think there’s just more and more concern about the fact that in all of these sectors, China is moving into a dominant or even monopolistic position,” says Andrew Small, director of the Asia programme at the European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR) in Berlin.
Some in Brussels thought Trump’s return to the White House could help to facilitate a reset in the EU-China relationship. But while Europe’s reliance on the US for security meant that the EU had to roll over when Trump threatened tariffs, China refused to bend, and its tough strategy has so far been successful.
“I think what became clear from the Chinese end was that the view would rather be that Europe is in a weaker position as a result of the situation in the transatlantic ties, and Europe needs to be the one to give things up. That’s what we’ve seen pretty much since then,” says Small.
China’s dominant position in some manufacturing sectors offers leverage of its own, as the Dutch government discovered last September when it seized control of Nexperia, a Chinese-owned chip manufacturer. Beijing retaliated by blocking exports of Nexperia chips
It will level out globally in the long run because it’s easier to catch up with others than to lead by innovation. What will prevent the world from copying Chinese innovations after China itself did so for decades?
I mean, there’s a reason out of all third world countries only China managed to do it; industrialization is actually incredibly hard, especially if there are foreign powers invested in preventing it. I mean hell, even now China already has the best manufacturing in the world and the gap is only getting bigger; it’s impossible to compete with that using services or resource extraction. Now the West theoretically has the capital to catch up before it’s too late, but by the time neoliberals let go of power it will be too late.
There are various reasons China made it before not instead of others. Industrialization is taking up speed on Africa for example even if we like to ignore it.
However China isn’t flawless and one aspect of the price it paiys is a selfmade demographic problem: The incedrible chatch up speed wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the one-child-poöicy which, coupled with immensly hard work by the Chinese population and heavy environmental destruction, allowed for China to become an economic giant within decades. This policy however will backfire in the near future. It’s not all black and white but mostly grey… as always.