The politicalologist Yan Kuetong: « Now you need to create more open markets between Brussels and Beijing »

«There is only one nation capable of challenging and holding the comparison with the United States: not Germany, not Japan but China ». Professor yan xuetong He is aware of the growing strength of his country. If Deng Xiaoping, the « father » of reforms and openings, instructed his to conceal, in the initial phase of development, the potential of China, the scholar, 72 years old – Honorary President of the Institute for International Relations of the Tsinghua University of Beijing, perhaps the Think -ank More prestigious of the Dragon – speaks openly about the role that the People’s Republic has conquered itself on the world scene. We meet him in Milan, where he arrived after a series of European stages, sponsored by the Berggruen Institute Europe to offer a deeper look at China: yesterday he was at the ISPI.

Professor Yan, Beijing aims to reach economic and strategic equality with Washington. President Trump says he wants to recover The commercial disadvantage with China. What should we expect?
«The People’s Republic, in the last forty years, has tried to achieve the level of development of the United States. From an economic point of view, despite not having conquered equality – our GDP is approximately 19 trillion dollars against the 29 of America -, we are the only commercial power that can keep up with the USA, if we consider that the third and fourth of the list, Germany and Japan, have a GDP of only 4 trillion and little more. Then there is the technological aspect: and here we are ahead from a point of view of the application (for example of the AI ​​in robots) but back in research. Finally, the military sector, where we are approaching parity ».

Okay, but for what purpose all this?
«The point is that China and the United States are in a structural competition that will shape the next decades. America wants to maintain its domain. China wants balance ».

I ask them again: why?
« If we look at recent history, we can consider that in Europe, until there was a balance between the blocks – the USA and NATO on the one hand, the USSR and the Warsaw Pact on the other -, the continent has experienced a period of relative tranquility. In Eastern Asia, vice versa, until he fought for ideology, wars have multiplied, from Korea to Vietnam. Now, on the contrary, we live in peace while Europe is at war. Why? Because we are in a phase of relative balance. A conflict between the US and China would be immediately atomic and this does not want it. Here is the advantage of counterweights ».

For Trump, however, there is an evident imbalance in commercial relations between the United States and China, and for this reason he imposed duties which, at the moment, are only partially suspended …
« In this sector we witness a bistic that has no reason to be. »

What does it mean?
«America will never reach parity in commercial balance: not only with us. Since Nixon’s time he has done everything to transform the dollar into a global coin and he succeeded. Today the Americans buy abroad everything that no longer produce and their currency is used by everyone daily. What would happen if – in a hypothetical way – the United States equalized the commercial balance? That the dollars would remain in their borders, losing the international role: a madness ».

And how does Europe enter this speech?
« Europe now has the opportunity to seek agreements with China that are advantageous for both: we can open even more the respective markets, respecting the political differences, which are destined to remain such ».

How is Italy seen in China?
« Rome withdrew from the Silk Road and was not a happy move: in Beijing she lost points, as you say. »