Dui Hua/ Dialogue

Tonight was one of my most interesting, firsthand experiences dealing with political situations in China. As an exchange student at CCER, I was allowed to be an audience member for a CCTV talk show (supposedly one of the most popular) called “Dui Hua”. Six economists, three American and three Chinese, were invited to discuss issues pertaining to the Chinese economy and the audience was comprised of economics students and professors from schools in Beijing. The show became quite entertaining, if only for the tense moments between Martin Feldstein and the talk show host.

Essentially, the host was adamant about getting across three points:

There is “China fever” in the United States- this was supported by recent news magazine articles focusing on the growth of China’s economic and political strength. There is a dispute regarding trade between China and the U.S.- in other words, Americans have a problem with the vast amount of cheap goods being imported from China. This has lead to trade restrictions such as those on textiles.

The acquisition of American companies by Chinese firms threatens the U.S.’s global dominance of the economy.

The responses by the American economists:

There is no China craze. While China is becoming more interesting (particularly to individuals that actually follow world politics or economics), it is certainly not a main focus to most Americans. People are more concerned about Iraq and oil prices This is a non-issue. The U.S. imports a substantial amount of goods from China and in return, however, China imports very little from the world economy. China is the one that needs to open its doors to trade and allow its consumers to benefit from greater variety of products. The issue that should be raised is that market forces do not determine the exchange rate for the RMB. There is no way that the acquisition of a dishwasher appliance company will threaten world dominance (e.g. Maytag acquisition by Haier).

While I feel there was some liberty taken with interpretations of the issues by both parties and that the truth lies somewhere in-between, I have a tendency to side with the views of the American economists. I agree with the argument that at the dinner table, the emergence of China is not the first topic of discussion. I agree that free trade is generally recognized as a good thing and that there will be winners (Americans that can buy cheaper goods) and losers (textile producers in Mexico). I agree that the U.S.’s business sector is dynamic and open to international business. However, I will say that I do not know what the commonly held view is. I think that the general American public is easily influenced by the media and likes sensational news (hence the higher ratings for Fox News compared to CNN). . but I’m not going to get into a political tirade here. . .

Several things struck me as noteworthy during this discussion. (1) The Chinese host + economists and the American economists seemed to be talking at each other than really getting at the issues. (2) That certain issues were avoided because of their politically sensitive nature. (3) That it took more than three hours of filming for a half hour/hour long show. This makes me question just how much of the American economists responses will be edited and how. . . I guess I’ll have to tune in to find out.