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Despite the fact that China’s economy continues to far outgrow all major Western economies the Western media is energetically promoting a myth of “peak China”—i.e. that China’s economy either has or is about to drastically slow down.
The annual meeting of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) is underway right now. The NPC is officially China’s highest deliberative body, ostensibly deciding economic and social policies each year. In reality, those policies have been drawn up by the Chinese Communist Party leaders in advance and then presented to the NPC to vote on (unanimously). Nevertheless, the NPC meeting offers the CP leaders an opportunity to spell out their policy answers to deal with the current economic and social problems of the country.
CADTM | China has been demonized by several commentators: it is said to be the main creditor of many countries of the South and to get the most of them through ruthless exploitation whereas the World Bank, the IMF, the Paris Club, that bring together traditional creditor powers, are supposed to do their best to help those countries burdened by too much debt.
China also uses propaganda. It parades as an ally of countries of the South, regularly announces debt cancellation and debt relief, and claims that it does not enforce neoliberal conditionalities as do the IMF and the World Bank. It also stresses its efficiency.
Western economists continue to argue that the Chinese economy is heading down the drain. As Michael Roberts argues, this critique is not factually correct, and it aims to distract attention from the reality that the Western capitalist economies (apart from the United States) are floundering in stagnation and near slump.
China on Friday called for a comprehensive ceasefire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and issued a 12-point plan to achieve peace. China rolled out its plan at the United Nations and in the international press over the weekend.
The Taiwan question remains unresolved, more than 70 years after the end of the Chinese civil war. The U.S. stokes the fires of this divisive issue on a regular basis, keeping the government of the People’s Republic in Beijing on the defensive.