Defining China as a “developing” or “developed” country for the purpose of the World Trade Organization matters a lot to the US president. He has directed the US trade representative to “use all available means to secure changes” at the WTO to strip China of its developing status. Some US allies have joined the calls, with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison referring to China as a “newly developed economy”, and saying that “obviously, as nations progress and develop, then the obligations and how the rules apply to them also shift”.
(Oct 21): Next week, I will visit Nanshan in Shenzhen. Some describe it as China’s Silicon Valley and home to high-tech companies. If you want cutting-edge technology, 5G development and artificial intelligence programming, this is where you go. Nanshan district is a model high-tech, sophisticated, smart-city development, and it stands in stark contrast to Dunhuang in remote Gansu province, which I visited a few weeks ago to speak at a Belt and Road roundtable forum.
Dunhuang struggles with poverty, isolation and lack of economic opportunity. Although different in climate, the remote province of Yunnan has the same problems of deeply ingrained poverty. China has a proud record of lifting millions of people out of poverty over the past 70 years but, as a visit to the outer provinces shows, much work remains to be done. The cities in Gansu and Yunnan are a long way from the sophisticated cities along the east coast of China and the Pearl River Delta — and therein lies a dilemma. Is China a developing country or is it “cheating” on this status, as constantly alleged by President Donald Trump,
