Chinese Economist Dubs Western Decoupling ‘Suicidal,’ Urges Strong Development of Belt and Road

June 4, 2020 (EIRNS)—China is obviously brainstorming to develop a response to the U.S. threat of total decoupling between the Chinese and American economies, and to the lesser forms of withdrawal being discussed in most Western countries. Ding Yifan, with the Development Research Center of the State Council, gave an interview to the CGTN Français program “You’re Not Being Told Everything” (“On ne vous dit tout”), which was posted on June 2 as a video under the headline, “De-Globalization after the Epidemic?” Ding is a prominent Chinese economist, who addressed the Sept. 29, 2015 press conference in Beijing where the Schiller Institute released the Chinese-language version of its report, “The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land-Bridge.” At the time, he underlined the importance of the economic concepts of Lyndon LaRouche at the basis of the report.

Asked about the belief among Western economists that the COVID pandemic will stop globalization, forcing China to also turn away from it, Ding responded sharply:

“This kind of statement shows a certain arrogance on the part of the Western countries. They think that globalization was first initiated, created by them. So, if these Western countries withdraw from the globalization process, globalization will be finished; there will be de-globalization. We shouldn’t ignore the collective emergence of developing countries. We shouldn’t ignore the fact that the emerging economies, the BRICS countries, plus Turkey, Indonesia, and a few of the other large emerging economies, are larger today than the G7.”

“So the G7 is no longer the world leader?” asked CGTN. Ding replied:

“No, not at all, not at all. They were surpassed as much as two years ago. Today the emerging economies are more important. So it’s not going to go back. As long as China and the new emerging economies don’t stop the path of globalization, it will continue. Without the Western countries—if they withdraw from the process of globalization, it will make no difference.”

Ding then explained precisely what he meant by globalization:

“We are going to do this with the Chinese New Silk Road projects; they serve to strengthen the ties of the new globalization. If they withdraw, too bad for them, they will not benefit from this process of globalization.... If they withdraw from this process of globalization, they would suffer all the more; they would suffer all the more because they would leave the world’s most important markets; they would leave the most dynamic development movement of the world economy.... I would even say that this would be suicidal behavior.”

Ding concluded that if the U.S. and EU pull out, it “will not stop their decline. It will continue, on the contrary, it will weaken the competitiveness of their companies, of their national economies. It’s going to kill their companies.”