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Chinese Scholar: China Is Facing The Worst External Environment in 40 Years

Wang Wen, Executive Director of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, published an article stating that China is facing the worst external environment in 40 years.

Wang listed three points regarding the international environment:

  1. China’s annual and quarterly economic growth rate became lower than that of the United States, which has not been seen for more than four decades.
  2. There are signs that production and supply chains are moving out of China, also not seen for more than four decades.
  3. The United States has coordinated a political consensus and comprehensive action among Western countries regarding the “China threat,” also not seen for more than four decades.

Wang gave a few strategic prescriptions for easing China’s situation (a nice way of implying that the authorities have made strategically poor decisions):

  1. Reflect on the long-term, difficult, and complex nature of the rise (of China) as a great power. {Editor’s Notes: The author is suggesting that China has not reached the great power that it wants to achieve; it still needs time to continue building up its power.}
  2. Objectively face the basic fact that the U.S., though it will decline, has not yet declined too much.
  3. Objectively face the basic fact that China, though it will surpass the U.S., has not yet surpassed it.
  4. Chinese society needs to mentally prepare for the worst and most dire scenarios to occur.

Source: Sohu, August 27, 2023
https://www.sohu.com/a/715303788_120094090