Are we globalising ourselves out of community?
Like it or not, globalisation will soldier on unfazed and is merely entering a new phase. As history has shown, its reach and character will evolve with the advance of technology and various national policies, affecting us both positively and negatively.
The voyages of figures like Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama globalised travel and
trading by sea while also giving rise to
transoceanic empires , colonisation and the proliferation of slavery. The Industrial Revolution accelerated the world's scientific discoveries and revolutionised modes of production while eventually bringing about our reliance on fossil fuels and the resulting
environmental dangers
We are now living in the
digital age of globalisation . People, goods and services are connected more than ever, and new ideas are ever at our fingertips. Governments and corporations collect big data, not just domestically, but internationally.
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South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Where does China stand after US trade deal with EU seen as ‘more rhetoric than substance'?
Analysts say Washington could be hoping its agreement with Brussels offers the US more leverage over China As a framework trade deal was struck between the United States and the European Union on the eve of a new round of trade talks between Beijing and Washington, analysts said China was in a position to stay calm and wait to see how the deal actually pans out, even if the US is likely to use it as a bargaining chip. But Beijing should still be aware of the potential alliance between its two major trading partners in the economic sphere, as the US and EU could transform shared sore points into a united front against China, they added. On Monday, China and the US began their third round of trade negotiations in Stockholm, one day after Washington and Brussels announced a trade deal framework that included a 15 per cent tariff on most EU goods entering the US. 'The US may believe that, after essentially securing the EU, it will have greater negotiating leverage when dealing with China,' said Cui Hongjian, the head of EU studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University. The EU agreed to purchase US$750 billion worth of American energy over three years, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of US military equipment, and invest more than US$600 billion above current levels in the world's largest economy, US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced. The two sides also agreed to drop tariffs to zero on a range of goods, including aircraft, plane parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment and some agricultural products, von der Leyen said on Sunday. Unlike the immediate impact of US tariffs, Europe's pledges – whether on investments, energy deals, or defence spending – are backloaded and can be further drawn out, Cui said. Newsletter Daily, Monday to Friday China at a Glance By submitting, you consent to receiving marketing emails from SCMP. If you don't want these, tick here {{message}} Thanks for signing up for our newsletter! Please check your email to confirm your subscription. Follow us on Facebook to get our latest news. 'Europe's approach is to first placate the US before addressing specific disputes, banking on the possibility of enduring another four years under a potential Trump administration,' he said. 'Many of its concessions can be diluted over time through bureaucratic processes and renegotiation. 'The so-called agreement is more rhetoric than substance, with Europe offering largely vague long-term promises. In reality, the actual implementation of these commitments seems far from reliable.' We firmly oppose any party reaching deals at the expense of China's interests Guo Jiakun, Ministry of Foreign Affairs As a result, there is no need for Beijing to hastily react just because the US and Europe have reached a deal, he said. 'Further observation is warranted. Yet, Beijing must carefully watch if Europe seeks to redirect the US' focus toward China, using Sino-Western tensions as a tool to resolve transatlantic disputes,' Cui added. Regarding the US-EU deal, Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press conference on Monday that China had always advocated resolving trade disputes through equal dialogue and consultation among all parties. 'At the same time, we firmly oppose any party reaching deals at the expense of China's interests,' Guo said. On top of challenges from US tariffs, the China-EU relationship has also been fraught in recent years, despite ongoing dialogue, with both sides seeking to avoid a full-blown trade war. In particular, the EU has accused China of exporting industrial overcapacity, deliberately flooding European markets with subsidised products – especially in tent-pole sectors such as electric vehicles – and Brussels has said this action distorts trade and threatens local businesses. Top leaders from the bloc were in Beijing last week to attend a high-level bilateral summit, where they also met with President Xi Jinping. Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for the Asia-Pacific region at Natixis, said the US-EU trade deal basically only clarified that Europe would find it more costly to export to the US. 'So, Europe will swallow the 15 per cent tariffs, as everybody else is doing,' she said. 'It's not a major game changer for China-EU relations.' Having locked in deals with other major economies, including Europe and Japan, the US may adopt a tougher stance in trade talks with China, according to Zhuang Bo, global macro strategist at Loomis Sayles Investment Asia. Trump, EU chief strike 15% trade deal in transatlantic stand-off But at the micro level, the 15 per cent US tariff on European goods still gives Chinese exporters some breathing room, as Chinese exports may remain price-competitive, relative to their European counterparts, despite facing levies that are around 30 percentage points higher, Zhuang said. Andy Chen, an independent consultant based in Tianjin, said the US-EU deal could pose strategic risks to China by shifting EU energy and industrial import preferences towards the US, potentially undermining China's comparative advantage in high-end manufacturing, clean-energy exports, and influence in transatlantic investment flows. 'The EU's commitment to buy over US$750 billion in US energy – likely including liquefied natural gas, crude oil and possibly hydrogen – could displace Chinese exporters of solar modules, lithium batteries and other clean-energy components,' he said. He added that the EU's additional US$600 billion investment pledge to the US may crowd out capital previously allocated to, or under consideration for, China. 'This US-EU deal also signals a shift from multilateralism to bilateral power-based trade alignments,' Chen said. But Su Yue, principal economist for China at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said the deal may not cause significant harm to China, because most Chinese and European industries are not in direct competition. 'Most of the goods China exports to the US aren't things Europe produces itself, so I don't see obvious damage to China from this,' she said. 'One scenario is if Chinese companies plan to build factories in Europe – for example, a parts factory in Hungary – to serve the US market. In that case, these moves might become more strategically important,' Su added.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China's imports of US goods plunge amid trade war, complicating ‘phase 2' deal
Washington is widely expected to push China to commit to 'large purchases' of US goods during trade negotiations in Sweden this week, but customs data shows that Chinese imports of a slew of American commodities have plunged or even halted entirely in recent months. Officials from Beijing and Washington begin a crucial third round of trade talks in Stockholm on Monday, with many analysts predicting the US side will focus on securing Chinese agreements to import more American oil, liquefied natural gas and other goods. The talks come a day after the US struck a framework trade deal with the European Union that included an EU commitment to ramp up imports of American energy and military equipment, and the US setting a 15 per cent tariff rate on EU goods. 'The Trump administration is pursuing a 'phase two' trade deal and will request large purchases of US commodities, including energy, as well as direct investment in US commodity production and export capacity,' said Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical strategist at BCA Research in Canada. But he added that 'US-China national security competition will force China to impose limitations on US dependency'. China has long been a major buyer of US energy and agricultural products, but its imports of several American commodities have plunged or completely frozen in recent months as tensions between the two sides have intensified over a series of trade and technology issues.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China's imports of US goods plunge amid trade war, complicating ‘phase 2' deal
Washington is widely expected to push China to commit to 'large purchases' of US goods during trade negotiations in Sweden this week, but customs data shows that Chinese imports of a slew of American commodities have plunged or even halted entirely in recent months. Officials from Beijing and Washington begin a crucial third round of trade talks in Stockholm on Monday, with many analysts predicting the US side will focus on securing Chinese agreements to import more American oil, liquefied natural gas and other goods. The talks come a day after the US struck a framework trade deal with the European Union that included an EU commitment to ramp up imports of American energy and military equipment, and the US setting a 15 per cent tariff rate on EU goods. 'The Trump administration is pursuing a 'phase two' trade deal and will request large purchases of US commodities, including energy, as well as direct investment in US commodity production and export capacity,' said Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical strategist at BCA Research in Canada. But he added that 'US-China national security competition will force China to impose limitations on US dependency'. China has long been a major buyer of US energy and agricultural products, but its imports of several American commodities have plunged or completely frozen in recent months as tensions between the two sides have intensified over a series of trade and technology issues.
