The Chinese threat has been understood by many countries, but no one country has been able to grasp in its entirety what will be the impact of the rise of China, under the leadership of Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party. Now again, Beijing has surprised the world with unprecedented growth, at a time when the whole world faces the immense challenge of combined health and economic catastrophe. The November exports this year are at 21% higher than November last year, the surplus has touched $75.42 billion.
This current occurrence may have flabbergasted many, but the facts lay bare on the statistical sheets, and that is, no form of containment till now has worked in its aim to contain and constrain the Chinese. The world powers and middle powers have only tried securitisation and geostrategic containment strategy with the economic part missing from it. These countries must relook at their strategy and find a connecting link, to thread all the like-minded countries to create an alternative for Chinese manufacturing and supply chains, as well as reclaim WTO from the Chinese.
To put the Chinese trade story while the world is struck by the pandemic, the November exports were up 21% from an year earlier, as reported by WSJ, accelerating from October’s 11.4% and beating economists’ 12% forecast. Imports were up 4.5%, slowing slightly from October’s 4.7% and short of the 5.3% expected by economists. The resulting $75.42 billion trade surplus topped the record set in May when a drop in imports was the major factor.
These numbers can mean one of two things, either Beijing is unhinged by the world ganging up on it, or it has once again royally flawed its trade numbers, a standard practice in Beijing. Considering the numbers are true, then the countries need to come together. There are multiple mini laterals, bilaterals, and trilaterals floating in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Some European Union members in their capacities have also entered the regional fray.
Added to that, opinions are floating for NATO to sail out of Atlantic and into the Indian Ocean. However, all these are individual efforts or combination of some countries, but, what is needed is an entirely combined effort of all the like-minded countries, who would want a multi-polar system in all its essence to continue.
Read more: The Big East Asia Buildup: US, UK, France and Russia are now standing at China’s doors.
The only country that is showing great leap forward is China and it is signalling the obvious that is, no efforts of containment and supply chains diversification have worked. Thus, there needs to be a change in course of the whole world. An urgent need for a common minimum narrative is needed to be devised, keeping the economic containment of China at the centre stage. All the laterals need to come together to form a single body that can provide an alternative to the Chinese option and thus, hurt China on its Achilles heel, that is, the Chinese economy itself.