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Some Friendly Advice for China’s Leaders

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发表于 2018-8-24 20:44:35 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
You can’t expect to keep receiving favorable trade and investment terms unless you reciprocate.
By Maurice R. Greenberg

Aug. 21, 2018 6:24 p.m. ET


The trade dispute between the U.S. and China threatens to destabilize arguably the world’s most important bilateral relationship. A better understanding of the countries’ shared history may encourage wiser negotiations.

There is a great deal of pride in China for the country’s remarkable success. Compared with our population of roughly 300 million, China has a population of 1.4 billion. It should be no surprise that China is now the world’s second-largest economy. Since its economic opening in the 1970s, many Chinese citizens have been educated in the U.S. and then returned to China to become leaders in government and industry. The China of today is fully capable of competing with foreigners in its domestic markets on a level playing field, as its firms have proven overseas.

The contributions the U.S. has made to China are worth noting. Starting in 1900, the Open Door policy, advanced by the U.S., spared China from European colonization. Prior to World War II, the U.S. imposed an embargo on Japan and deployed military assets to the Pacific in defense of that policy. Before the U.S. entered the war, the Flying Tigers, an American volunteer group, were recruited from the U.S. military and mobilized to assist China’s defense against Japan. The U.S. provided extensive additional support throughout the war to the Chinese and ultimately spilled considerable blood on their behalf. At war’s end, the U.S. ensured that China was included as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

After the Chinese Revolution in 1949, Mao Zedong established the People’s Republic, sending the Chinese into international isolation for two decades. Then in 1972, President Nixon and national security adviser Henry Kissinger re-established bilateral ties by signing the Shanghai Communiqué during the president’s historic visit to China. It was in the national interest of both countries to foster a more constructive relationship. Both viewed the Soviet Union as a strategic threat.

China was populous and rich in natural resources, but its economy was minuscule and in shambles from a decade of internal conflict. After Mao’s death, Deng Xiaoping sought stronger ties with the U.S. He understood that China’s future political stability would hinge on its economic success.

When bilateral trade resumed, the U.S. extended favorable trade terms to foster China’s economic growth. Tariffs on Chinese imports into the U.S. were low—on average a third of those on U.S. exports to China. Bilateral trade grew from zero to several billion dollars within a few years. In 1979 President Carter re-established formal diplomatic relations, and China was given most favored nation trading status. In 1981 the Reagan administration created a separate trade category for China to exempt it from restrictions on trade with every other communist country.

Notwithstanding contentious issues such as textile quotas, intellectual property rights, market access and the growing trade imbalance, bilateral trade continued to grow, allowing China’s economy to achieve success beyond what Deng envisioned. By 1986 the U.S. had become China’s third-largest trading partner, behind only Hong Kong and Japan. In 2000 China was given permanent normal trade relations with the U.S. In 2001 it joined the World Trade Organization—something that never would have happened without the active support of the U.S. government and business community. I was proud to lead that effort as chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council.

1.jpg C.V. Starr (in dark suit, left center) and the staff of what was then known as American Asiatic Underwriters in Wuxi, China, July 4, 1924.
My company, Starr Insurance, started in Shanghai in 1919, the first American insurance company to operate in China. Its operations there ended after the revolution. As head of Starr, I started to visit China in 1975. I met and established a relationship with the state-owned People’s Insurance Company of China , the country’s only insurer. We signed a memorandum of understanding with the PICC and began training many of their people as well as arranging reinsurance of their business to expand their capacity.


Our relationships in China grew, and we helped in every way possible, believing we would eventually be able to re-establish our business in the country. In 1992 we did, when AIG and its subsidiaries, which had been founded by Starr and were already operating throughout Asia, received eight regional licenses. The first was in Shanghai. We were the only wholly foreign-owned life insurer to be awarded operating licenses. We introduced the agency system in China, which caught on and created about a million jobs across the country.

Through my many years of doing business in China and involvement in U.S.-China relations, it seems to me the solution to the current trade dispute is rather clear. When Nixon visited in 1972, China’s economy was marginal to world trade. Today it is poised to become the global leader. As an emerging market, China erected trade barriers to build its nascent industries. This was acceptable to foreign countries like the U.S. for strategic reasons. Foreign companies endured it because of China’s vast potential. Now discriminatory treatment of foreigners is embedded in the Chinese bureaucracy—in government policies, in regulatory procedures laden with obstacles and delays, in structural impediments such as turnover in government agencies resulting from forced early retirements, and in the mindset of Chinese officials.

This all needs to change. China cannot expect to continue receiving favorable trade and investment terms in foreign markets when it is unwilling to reciprocate. It is in China’s interest to reform, and the U.S. is right to press to level the playing field. China no longer needs the same accommodations as in its initial stages of economic development. It makes sense to reassess the terms of bilateral trade and make them more fair and equitable, with each trading partner securing equal and unhindered market access across all sectors.

This is about more than trade, and the stakes are high for the U.S. and China and globally. I hope American and Chinese leaders recognize the critical importance of maintaining a constructive and open relationship. It should not be viewed as a zero-sum game. Increased and mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation should be pursued in earnest. That would be a stabilizing force, capable of nurturing both peace and prosperity, while providing a much needed source of comfort to countless people in an increasingly uncertain world.

Mr. Greenberg, founding chairman and CEO of AIG, is chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co.





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 楼主| 发表于 2018-8-24 20:47:04 | 显示全部楼层
美国帮助中国百年 中国应该知恩图报还一个公平
美国国际集团创始董事长、前美中贸易全国委员会主席格林伯格(Maurice R. Greenberg)在《华尔街日报》上撰文说,在过去一百多年,美国曾经给予中国无私帮助,使得其经济发展壮大。在中国成为世界第二大经济体之际,它应该知恩图报,还美国一个公平。
文章说,从1900年开始,美国倡导的开门政策让中国免于欧洲列强的殖民统治。在第二次世界大战之前,美国通过对日本实行禁运,以及向太平洋部署军事资产,捍卫了这一政策。在美国加入二战之前,美国军队招募飞虎队成员,帮助中国抗日。在二战中,美国向中国提供了广泛的支持,甚至在神州洒下热血。二战结束时,美国确保中国成为联合国安理会五个永久成员国之一。
在邓小平上世纪70年代实行改革开放政策之后,美中双边贸易恢复。美国给予中国最优惠贸易条款,以促使中国经济增长。中国向美国出口关税非常低,只有美国向中国出口关税的三分之一。短短数年,双边贸易从零增加到几十亿美元。在1979年,卡特总统跟中国重建外交关系,中国被给予贸易最惠国地位。在1981年,里根政府为中国建立了一个单独的贸易类别,以便它不受美国对共产主义国家的贸易限制。
美国还容忍中共的纺织品配额问题、知识产权问题、市场准入问题和贸易不平衡问题,跟中国继续增加贸易来往,使得中国经济取得了邓小平不敢想像的成功。截至1986年,美国已经成为中国的第三大贸易伙伴。在2000年,中国被给予跟美国的永久正常贸易关系。在2001年,中国加入世贸组织——如果不是美国政府和商界的积极支持,这件事永远不可能发生。
现在,中国已经成长为世界第二大经济体,但是中共官僚系统对外国公司的歧视仍然根深蒂固——在政府政策上,在监管程序上。
文章说,这一切需要改变。如果中共不愿意互惠,它就不能指望在外国市场上继续接受优惠的贸易和投资条款。改革符合中国的利益。美国施压建立公平竞争环境是对的。重新评估双边贸易,使得它们更加公平,使得双方在所有领域获得平等的市场准入是有道理的。
这一切不仅仅关乎贸易,美国、中国和全球都跟此事利益攸关。
川普批中共敲竹杠
尽管美国百年来给予中国大量帮助,但是中共一直煽动反美情绪,高喊“打倒美帝国主义”等口号。与此同时,中共利用美国开放的科技、教育系统,盗窃美国知识产权,壮大中共国企和军队。
川普(特朗普)5月17日在美中贸易第二轮会谈之前说:“中共敲我们的竹杠,吸空我们的财富,这是其它国家从未见过的。中共拿从美国抢来的许多钱重建它自己。”
川普8月21日在西弗吉尼亚集会上说,他将制止中共迅速赶超美国。“当我上任的时候,我们在走向某个方向,允许中国(中共)在短期内赶超我们。”川普说,“这样的事情不会再发生。”
《华盛顿邮报》报导说,川普反制中共的种种措施暗示,川普及其顾问已经将这个共产主义势力视为一个邪恶的力量、直接的竞争对手和敌手,并认为针对它们不断扩大的影响力必须通过更有效的对策来应对。
川普说:“我希望做他们(中国人民)的朋友。但是我们必须做我们不得不做的事情。”
美国施压中共是为中国好
浙江财经大学经济与国际贸易学院院长谢作诗认为,美国提出的要求其实是为了中国好。在这场美中贸易谈判中,中方越是让步,中国越能进步。
“美国要求中国开放市场,降低国有经济比重。中国本来就要搞市场改革,本来就要开放,何必要别人压你呢?那我退步(让步),变得更加开放,降低关税,这不是进步是什么呢?最好的关税是零关税。关税是越低越好,对整个国家、整个国民来说是好的。”
谢作诗说,中共之所以迟迟不愿意让步,是在保护既得利益集团。



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