Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its economic and/or diplomatic engagement with the People’s Republic of China


Advantage ___: Harms (China Stability)



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Advantage ___: Harms (China Stability)

  1. Promoting labor rights in China is critical for their economy because it will grow the middle class



Levin, 2002 SANDER LEVIN, A U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM MICHIGAN https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-107hhrg78790/html/CHRG-107hhrg78790.htm
Separately, respect for labor rights will help further develop a middle class in China. Although some claim that more trade in and of ¶ itself will automatically lead to a middle class, I do not believe that ¶ is the case. When workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively, they can enjoy a larger share of the profits that they help create. The Commission will provide a key tool to Congress and the ¶ Administration to help improve labor rights in China. It will provide a ¶ source of information and monitoring that both the Administration and ¶ Congress can trust. I hope the Commission will also make useful ¶ recommendations on ways to work with China to improve the respect for ¶ worker rights.

  1. A strong Chinese economy is critical to ensure that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will stay in power



Shirk and Lam, 2007 China: Fragile Superpower Susan Shirk (director of the University of California system-wide Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation) and Ho Miu Lam (professor of China and Pacific Relations at IR/PS and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs) 2007
As China's leaders well know, the greatest political risk lying ahead of them is the possibility of an economic crash that throws millions of workers out of their jobs or sends millions of depositors to withdraw their savings from the shaky banking system. A massive environmental or public health disaster also could trigger regime collapse, especially if people's lives are endangered by a media cover-up imposed by Party authorities. Nationwide rebellion become a real possibility when large numbers of people are up-set about the same issue at the same time. Another dangerous scenario is a domestic or international crisis in which the CCP leaders feel compelled to lash out against Japan, Taiwan, or the United States because from their point of view not lashing out might endanger Party rule.


  1. If the CCP loses power it will cause a nuclear war



Yee and Storey, 2002 (Herbert Yee, Professor of Politics and International Relations at the Hong Kong Baptist University, and Ian Storey, Lecturer in Defence Studies at Deakin University, 2002, “The China Threat: Perceptions, Myths and Reality”, p. 5.)
The fourth factor contributing to the perception of a China threat is the fear of political and economic collapse in the PRC, resulting in territorial fragmentation, civil war and we of refugees pouring into neighbouring countries. Naturally, any or all of these scenarios would have a profoundly negative impact on regional stability. Today the Chinese leadership faces a raft of internal problems, including the increasing political demands of its citizens, a growing population, a shortage of natural resources and a deterioration in the natural environment caused by rapid industrialisation and pollution. There problems are putting a strain on the central government's ability to govern effectively. Political disintegration or a Chinese civil war might result in millions of Chinese refugees seeking asylum in neighbouring countries. Such an unprecedented exodus of refugees from a collapsed PRC would no doubt put a severe strain on the limited resources of China's neighbours. A fragmented China could also result in another nightmare scenario — nuclear weapons falling into the hands of irresponsible local provincial leaders or warlords.. From this perspective, a disintegrating China would also pose a threat to its neighbours and the world.

Advantage ___: Harms (US Trade Competitiveness)

  1. A disregard for labor rights will give China an unfair advantage in world trade. This will threaten U.S. trade competitiveness



Levin, 2002 SANDER LEVIN, A U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM MICHIGAN

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-107hhrg78790/html/CHRG-107hhrg78790.htm


The Commission also has a key role to play in monitoring labor ¶ rights in China. Democratic staff from the Ways and Means Committee ¶ were recently in Cambodia examining the operation of the U.S.-Cambodia ¶ textiles and apparel agreement. This agreement addressed the labor ¶ rights issue in an innovative way--encouraging Cambodia to improve its ¶ labor rights through positive market access incentives. One of the issues that became clear on that trip was that China enjoyed an advantage because of its failure to respect labor rights: As one ¶ factory owner comparing his labor practices in his factory in Cambodia ¶ with his practices in his factory in China stated, ``I can do whatever I want in China.'' As China's accession to the WTO takes hold, other countries, particularly neighbors of China, will find it difficult to compete with China in attracting labor-intensive industries if China continues to allow investors there to ignore labor rights. There will truly be pressure for a race to the bottom.

  1. Now is the key time to curb Chinese gains over U.S. trade- Currency manipulation already threatens our global advantage over China



Wall Street Journal, June 2016 June 2, Wall Street Journal, “U.S.-China Trade Troubles Grow” http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-china-trade-troubles-grow-1464887897
Chinese leaders, worried about a deeper economic slowdown, are trying to keep factories humming and prevent the kind of market unrest that gripped global investors over the past year. U.S. Treasury and State Department officials fly to Beijing early next week for two days of talks to try to calm some of the trade irritants and address ongoing geopolitical tensions, particularly over the South China Sea, where their militaries are operating in sometimes dangerous proximity. The U.S., which moved on Wednesday to cut off North Korea from the banking system, wants Beijing to help rein in its increasingly belligerent ally. U.S. officials also will seek reassurance from Chinese officials about moving ahead with promised reforms, such as restructuring state-owned enterprises and reducing industrial overcapacity, and try to advance talks on an investment treaty. “Implementing this reform agenda—and resisting the urge to hang on to an outdated growth model—offers the best formula for China to achieve an orderly transition and put its economy on a more sustainable footing,” said Nathan Sheets, U.S. Treasury’s undersecretary for international affairs. China’s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao, while acknowledging at a media briefing Thursday major challenges for China’s economy, insisted Beijing would adhere to its reform agenda and commitments made by the Group of 20 against competitive currency devaluation. Some analysts think President Xi Jinping, wanting to consolidate power in the Communist Party ahead of a leadership transition next year, has paused reform efforts and instead is revving up the old playbook of credit-fueled growth and infrastructure spending. His aim: Ensure economic stability and mollify rivals, they say. An attempt last year by Beijing to allow markets to play a role in setting its exchange rate was mismanaged, adding to a summertime of woe for China’s financial markets and sparking global jitters. The reaction surprised Chinese officials and created a headache for reformers. The Chinese government is keeping steel mills, coal plants and a host of manufacturing industries afloat despite dwindling demand and a tumble in commodity prices that should have closed many. The U.S. recently slapped Chinese cold-rolled steel imports with duties worth 267%, accusing the country of selling products below production cost. By supporting excess production capacity, the Chinese government is “engaged in economic warfare against the U.S.,” said John Ferriola, chief executive of North Carolina steel giant Nucor Corp. “Thousands of hardworking Americans have lost their jobs because of these illegal, unfair trade practices.” The Chinese economy has decelerated after decades of double-digit expansion. Growth is clocking in at 6.7%, its slowest pace since the global financial crisis amid rising debt, growing labor unrest and factory output well above demand. China acknowledges it has an excess-capacity problem. “But we have to prevent massive unemployment,” Premier Li Keqiang said in March. When President Bill Clinton persuaded Congress to in 2000 to back China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, the U.S. counted on expanded trade as the catalyst for political change in the Communist state. U.S. firms hoped to capitalize on the industrialization of the world’s most populous nation. A decade and a half later, U.S. firms and voters are growing increasingly frustrated despite China’s promises to open up the country. Cheaper wages and costs pulled production out of the U.S., Chinese imports surged and American manufacturing declined as a share of the economy. The U.S. trade deficit with China has swollen to $365 billion, now about 2% of U.S. economic output. U.S. presidential contenders are leveraging anger at China over lost jobs into potential votes. Many of the areas hit hardest by China’s rise have shown some of the strongest support for Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has threatened to slap a 45% tariff on China as a way to force a change in Beijing’s trade policies. A Chinese worker polishing steel at an offshore oil-engineering platform in Qingdao, in east China's Shandong province on Wednesday. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES The Obama administration points to the yuan’s broader appreciation since 2005, renewed talks for a bilateral investment treaty and Beijing’s vows to allow markets to play a greater role in the economy as proof that its diplomacy has yielded gains. But the yuan's recent depreciation and continued obstacles to U.S. corporate access threaten to erode those advances. “There’s a growing risk that if China remains closed, we’re going to see more and more concern about a growing investment imbalance,” said Jeremie Waterman, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce executive overseeing China.
  1. U.S trade competitiveness is key to prevent global wars



Walt, 2002 (Stephen, Academic Dean at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Robert and Renee Belfer Professorship in International Affairs, American Primacy: It’s prospects and pitfalls”, Naval War College Review, Spring 2002, Vol. LV, No. 2)
By facilitating the development of a more open and liberal world economy, American primacy also fosters global prosperity. Economic interdependence is often said to be a cause of world peace, but it is more accurate to say that peace encourages interdependence—by making it easier for states to accept the potential vulnerabilities of extensive international intercourse.10 Investors are more willing to send money abroad when the danger of war is remote, and states worry less about being dependent on others when they are not concerned that these connections might be severed. When states are relatively secure, they will also be less fixated on how the gains from cooperation are distributed. In particular, they are less likely to worry that extensive cooperation will benefit others more and thereby place them at a relative disadvantage over time.11 By providing a tranquil international environment, in short, U.S. primacy has created political conditions that are conducive to expanding global trade and investment. Indeed, American primacy was a prerequisite for the creation and gradual expansion of the European Union, which is often touted as a triumph of economic self-interest over historical rivalries. Because the United States was there to protect the Europeans from the Soviet Union and from each other, they could safely ignore the balance of power within Western Europe and concentrate on expanding their overall level of economic integration. The expansion of world trade has been a major source of increased global prosperity, and U.S. primacy is one of the central pillars upon which that system rests.12 The United States also played a leading role in establishing the various institutions that regulate and manage the world economy. As a number of commentators have noted, the current era of “globalization” is itself partly an artifact of American power. As Thomas Friedman puts it, “Without America on duty, there will be no America Online.”13



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