China’s export success is a by-product of self-reliance

Not a day passes without someone in Europe or the United States complaining about China’s “overproduction” and “China-shock-20" class="entity-link entity-topic" data-entity-id="135575" data-entity-type="topic">China shock 2.0”. The narrative is of a deliberate, subversive Chinese strategy, underpinned by subsidies, to undermine the manufacturing economies of the West and exert economic hegemony worldwide.Inaccurate as the narrative may be, it is widely accepted and used to justify demands for protection. The larger China’s trade surpluses, the louder the likely clamour from Western industrial lobbies.Frustrating as it may feel for China’s ferociously competitive manufacturers, ignoring the clamour is likely to be a mistake. China’s export success is undeniable, as is the sense of threat felt across many sectors in Europe and the US.