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Do Americans hold “simple” ideas about Chinas economy?Posted by Michael Schuman Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 4:40 am0 Comments Related Topics: china, currencies, economic development, emerging markets, jobs, manufacturing, trade,TweetWang Qishan, Chinas vice-premier, caused a bit of a stir this week when he accused Americans of having “simple” ideas about his nation during an interview on “The Charlie Rose Show.” According to a transcript, Wang said: It is not easy to really know China because China is an ancient civilization and we are of the oriental culture. And for the Americans, the United States is the worlds number one superpower, and the American people are a very simple people. If theyre asked to choose to understand a foreign country, their first choice would be the European countries, and the South American countries may come second. It was not only until recent years that the American people have begun to pay more attention to China. But over the years American media coverage of China has been scarce, and if there were some coverage, most of them are lopsided.Wangs views about the “simple-mindedness” of Americans when it comes to the world are widely held by people just about everywhere and they sting. I am American and I am confronted by this accusation wherever I go. My experience tells me that the average American is no more narrow-minded about the world than the average person anywhere else let alone in China, where the Chinese arent allowed free access to information by their government.But Wangs comments got me thinking about American attitudes towards the China-U.S. economic relationship. In my opinion, many Americans dont seem to fully grasp the complexity of the Chinese economy and U.S.-China economic ties, and that generates tensions between the two countries. There is a gap and in some cases, a pretty wide one, in my opinion between what many Americans seem to believe about China and what is truly the reality on the ground. Here are what I believe are some common misperceptions:Common Belief One: China steals American factory jobs. Reality: Yes, it is true that the U.S. has experienced a major decline in manufacturing employment over the past 30 years, and China is partially responsible, since much of the worlds labor-intensive manufacturing (clothes, electronics, shoes) has become based in China. Even some of Americas high-tech inventions, like the iPhone, are assembled in China. But where Americans get things wrong is the idea that these jobs are being “stolen,” as if something nefarious is going on. The only crime committed by the Chinese people in this regard is that they are much poorer than Americans, and thus willing to work long hours in factories for a fraction of the wage demanded by workers in the U.S. or other wealthy nations. The shift of low-end manufacturing to emerging economies like China is part of a grand process of economic globalization in which production is becoming based where it is most cost-effective, wherever that may be in the world. The loss of low-end manufacturing in the U.S. began before Chinas market-oriented reforms even started way back in the 1960s, when labor-intensive work began shifting to places like South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Many of the factories that make electronics, clothing and toys in China today are actually owned by companies from these other Asian economies, which moved their facilities into China when wages rose at home. Simply put, if this labor-intensive work didnt move to low-wage China, it would move to other low-wage countries (Indonesia, India, etc. etc.). China may be part of that important process, but China cant be blamed for it.Common Belief Two: Chinas manipulation of its currency hurts the U.S. economy.Reality: It is true that the value of Chinas yuan is controlled by the government and kept at a rate that is probably too cheap, which makes Chinese exports extra competitive in global markets. There is a widespread belief in the U.S. that Chinas currency policy creates the countrys giant trade surplus with America and thus hurts U.S. industry and economic growth. However, a stronger yuan is no cure-all for the U.S. trade deficit. The yuan has appreciated by some 27% since 2005, when the yuan-dollar peg was first ended, but Chinas trade surplus (in goods) with the U.S. has increased, from $202 billion in 2005 to $273 billion in 2010. In my opinion, the U.S. overstates the importance of Chinas currency in the U.S.-China economic relationship. Getting rid of the trade deficit with China demands reforms on both sides of the Pacific to increase savings in the U.S. and spending in China. A stronger yuan would contribute to that process, and Ive consistently advocated that China allow the currency to be valued in a more market-oriented way for the good of its own economy. But the economic relationship between the two nations is extremely complex and Americans cant blame the yuan as a primary source of its economic ills.Common Belief Three: China does capitalism better than America.Reality: I hear all of the time from Americans that China is “more capitalist” or “better at capitalism” than America. Much of this nonsense got started during the Great Recession, when China was able to pump up growth with a giant stimulus package more quickly and efficiently than Washington. Ever since, Americans seem to have gotten the perception that China is a “better” economy, or that Chinese officials and businessmen are “better” at running a modern economic system. But this is silly on many, many levels. First, comparing the U.S. and Chinese economies is almost impossible, since they are at such divergent levels of development. China, as an emerging nation of still very poor people, can always achieve higher growth rates than an advanced, rich economy like the U.S. Second, the aspects of Chinese economic policy that are often praised in the U.S. arent capitalist at all Chinas stimulus program was a function of state policy, not the capitalist system, for example. Third, where China is “capitalist,” it often displays the worst aspects of capitalism labor abuses, environmental degradation, and quality and safety problems (i.e., the never-ending scandal over tainted milk,) Fourth, at this stage, Chinese firms cant come close to their American counterparts in innovation, management expertise and technology. Thats why foreign firms have a huge presence in many key sectors in China, like cars. So yes, China grows more quickly, and perhaps the government can occasionally implement policy more smoothly, but to say that China is a “better capitalist” is misguided.Common Belief Four: China will inevitably overtake the U.S. as the worlds premier economy.Reality: Yes, Chinas economy keeps getting bigger and bigger. China overtook Japan as the No.2 economy in the world last year. There is a widespread perception that it is inevitable that China will surpass the U.S. as well. Perhaps that will prove true. But in the world of economics, nothing is inevitable. China is dealing with a long list of problems of its own: persistent poverty, inflation, rising debt levels, income inequality, poor social services, bubble-quality property prices, poor technology and energy efficiency, excessive reliance on investment for growth, and so on. Overcoming all of these hurdles wont be easy, and we cant assume China will continue to grow 10% year after year after year. And even if China does top the U.S. in size, that doesnt mean America wont be a major force in the global economy, as a primary source of innovation and new technologies, and key consumer market.By making these points, Im not saying that Americans have no reason to be concerned about Chinas rise, or that China doesnt bring ire onto itself through certain policies. For example, American businessmen rightly have real concerns about fair access to important markets in China, especially in services. But at the same time, the simplistic sloganeering that goes on the in U.S. about China only intensifies those problems and makes them harder to resolve. Its about time we all get real about whats really going on in China.王岐山称美国人对中国看法简单引美媒体关注2011年05月16日09:41新华网 美国时代周刊网站5月12日发表题为美国人对中国经济看法“简单”吗？文章， 以下为主要内容：中国国务院副总理王岐山日前引起某种骚动：他接受“查理罗斯秀”节目采访时指责美国人对中国看法“简单”。世界各国的人几乎都抱有王岐山这种美国人对世界事务“看法简单”的观点，这很伤人。我是美国人，走到哪儿都面临这种指责。经验告诉我，普通美国人并不比其他地方的普通人思想狭隘。但是，王岐山的评论让我思考美国人对中美关系的态度。在我看来，很多美国人似乎没有充分了解中国经济和美中经济关系的复杂性，这在两国之间产生矛盾。我认为，很多美国人对中国人的看法与实际情况之间存在差距有时候是挺大的差距。以下就是我认为的某些常见的误解。常见看法一：中国偷走美国工人的工作事实：不错，30年来，美国制造部门的就业确实经历严重下滑，中国有一部分责任，因为全世界的劳动密集型制造业（服装、电子产品、鞋）有相当一 部分以中国为基地。即便美国的某些高技术产品比如iPhone，也在中国组装。但是，美国人的错误之处在于认为这些工作被“偷走”了，仿佛什么罪恶的勾当 正在进行。从这方面说，中国人犯的唯一错误就是比美国人穷得多，所以乐意在工厂里长时间工作，而拿的工资却是美国人或其他富国工人工资的几分之一。美国低端制造岗位的流失早在中国还没有实施以市场为导向改革以前就开始了20世纪60年代，劳动密集型岗位就转向韩国、台湾、新加坡和香港 一类的地方。如今生产电子产品、服装和玩具的中国工厂有很多其实都由上述其他亚洲经济体的公司所有，这些公司在本地区工资上涨后把工厂转移到中国。简而言之，如果这类劳动密集型岗位没有转到低工资的中国，那也会转到其他低工资的国家（印尼和印度等等）。中国不应该因此受到指责。常见看法二：中国操纵货币，影响到美国经济事实：人民币价格的确由政府控制，而且很可能过于便宜，这使中国出口产品在全球市场上格外有竞争力。美国存在一种普遍看法，认为中国的货币政策 使中国获得对美国的巨额贸易盈余，从而影响美国工业和经济增长。但是，