Page 13 - CSA Speaker Bulletin September 2018

Page 13 - CSA Speaker Bulletin September 2018 | CSA Celebrity Speakers

P. 13

CSA SPEAKER BULLETIN ASIA

HAS THE WEST

LOST IT?

KISHORE MAHBUBANI

Kishore Mahbubani is a senior that of China. By 2015, it was only 1.6 China’s economic success was a
global relations advisor and times larger. result of China’s integration into the
Professor in the practice of Western built ecosystem of global
public policy at the National Some in the West suggest that China multilateral institutions. As a result,
University of Singapore is about to experience a possible China is now the number one trading
slowing of growth, partly because of nation of the world.
Since 1978, when Deng America’s attempts to derail it with
Xiaoping launched the Four a trade war. Asians do not share this “The Chinese
Modernisations Programme, pessimism. We believe that China leadership has a clear,
China has experienced the is likely to have the world’s largest long-term plan for
greatest uplift of the human condition economy within a decade. China is China’s economy.”
in history: over 800 million people already ahead of many advanced
have been rescued from extreme economies, including America and Over 100 countries list China as their
poverty. How did China accomplish Europe, in many areas, such as fast number one trading partner. It is in
this? It made a massive U-turn. In the trains, e-commerce and mobile China’s long-term interest to preserve
past, China built great walls and shut payments. Its “Made in China 2025” the global rules-based order. This is
itself in. After 1978, China opened up strategy to make China a global why President Xi Jinping emphasized
its economy and integrated itself with leader in high-tech industries also in his speeches at Davos and Geneva
the world. China’s economy became shows that the Chinese leadership in January 2017 that China will
even more competitive after its has a clear, long-term plan for support multilateralism. The West
momentous decision to join the WTO China’s economy. should support China in this goal.
in 2001. The subsequent explosion
of the Chinese economy has been Undoubtedly, China’s re-emergence
phenomenal. In 2000, America’s will shake the world. However, China
economy was 8.5 times larger than will try to shake it gently. Chinese
leaders are acutely aware that

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