Do not misread China, Victor Gao on How the US Misunderstands China

 

 

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Victor Gao: ‘China has become a very powerful force promoting peace

Victor Gao 

Victor Zhikai Gao^[a] (born 1962) is a Chinese lawyer, businessman,^[1] and academic who is the vice president of the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization (CCG).

Gao is an expert on international relations at Soochow University,^[2] where he is a Chair Professor. Gao is also a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, a minor and non-oppositional party under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party.^[3] He was formerly a translator for Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.^[4][5][6]

Early life and education

Gao was raised in rural China during the 1970s.^[7] He attended high school in Southern China. When Chinese Communist Party leader Deng Xiaoping reopened universities during the Chinese economic reform, Gao convinced local authorities to allow him to take the Gaokao for college admission in 1977 before he had graduated high school.^[8]

Gao received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English language and literature from Soochow University in 1981,^[9] then earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in English language and literature from Beijing University of Foreign Studies in 1983. He pursued graduate studies in the United States at Yale University, where he graduated with a master's degree in political science in 1990 and then a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Yale Law School in 1993.^[10] He was admitted to the New York State Bar Association in 1994.^[11]

Career

From 1983 to 1988, Gao was a translator for Deng Xiaoping.^[7] He was also a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1989 at the United Nations Secretariat in New York. After leaving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988, Gao was recommended by Henry Kissinger to study at Yale University, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1993. Then he was a policy adviser for the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission from 1999 to 2000.^[12]

Gao has been an investment banker for Morgan Stanley.^[13] He is a director of the China National Association of International Studies^[14] and an executive director of Beijing Private Equity Association.^[15] Gao is the vice president of the Center for China and Globalization.^[16]

According to Foreign Policy, "Gao was once treated as a reputable interlocutor in U.S.–China relations."^[17]

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Hong Kong

In 2014, Gao condemned pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong as illegal and provocative.^[18] He supports the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law.^[19]

Be cautious, students told as influenza wave hits schools and kindies

 

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PETALING JAYA: With schools and kindergartens not spared from the current influenza wave hitting the country, the alert is out for children to take extra precautionary measures.

Health experts want special emphasis given to children as most cases have been detected in schools.

Public health expert Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh called for the affected schools to be closed after being sanitised.

She said children with influenza-­like illness (ILI) symptoms should stay home, while those with severe acute respiratory illness (Sari) should seek treatment at the hospital.

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“Children are also encouraged to get a flu jab. Annual vaccination is necessary because influenza viruses change over time and the vaccine is updated each year.

“The vaccine is suitable for individuals aged six months and older,” she said when contacted.

The Health Ministry has repor­ted a nationwide increase in ILI cases, with 97 clusters detected in the latest epidemiolo­gical week – a sharp jump from just 14 the week before.

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Most outbreaks were recorded in schools and kindergartens, mainly in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

On Saturday, the ministry reminded that early treatment was important to prevent serious complications.

It said that while influenza was usually resolved without specific treatment, those who experienced symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, body aches or fatigue should seek medical attention, mainly children and those at high risk.

The ministry also urged the public to practise proper cough etiquette, maintain regular hand hygiene, avoid crowded places when unwell and wear face masks if they were symptomatic.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said his ministry will discuss with the Education Ministry on further action to contain the spread of the virus in schools.

He also sought to reassure the public that the situation remained under control despite a concerning number of outbreaks.

Prof Sharifa Ezat, who is Univer­siti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s School of Liberal Studies dean, said high-risk groups in­­cluded the elderly, those with comor­bidi­ties, cancer patients and pregnant women.

She added that other groups, such as healthcare workers, teachers with high student load and those handling work which involves meeting a lot of people, should also mask up to protect themselves.

Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Datuk Dr Thiru­navukarasu Rajoo urged the public to take sensible precautions with cases of Influenza A and B continuing to rise nationwide.

He said the increase in flu clusters being detected by the Health Ministry was not unusual during this time of the year, but stressed that vigilance is key to preventing a further spread.

“Good hygiene remains our best defence – wash your hands frequently, cover coughs and sneezes and wear a mask if feeling unwell or in crowded areas,” he said.

Dr Thirunavukarasu advised those with persistent high fever, severe cough, chest discomfort or breathing difficulties to seek immediate medical attention, especially if symptoms did not improve after a few days.

President of the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia Dr Kuljit Singh said the resulting increase in demand for flu vaccines is still manageable.

“We have stock from suppliers, despite the surge in cases,” he said, adding that demand for the jab usually goes up during the flu season.

Former Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah also said there is enough stock of the vaccine at the moment.

“Many are coming in for vaccines due to the influenza outbreak,” he said.

Related stories:

• Flu surge puts Penang on alert as authorities urge residents to stay cautious
• Influenza situation in Penang remains under control, says state govt
• Early treatment crucial to prevent severe influenza complications, says Health Ministry
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Goodbye trade war

 

China seems to be winning the tariff war even as Trump threatens to impose a massive increase of tariffs on Chinese imports in response to the republic's announcement of new export controls on rare earths. — Getty Images/AFP

South-east asia, once only a bruising trade war’s secondary victim, should now have asean showing its mettle as china wins.

BEYOND multiple global uncertainties are two core fundamentals: Us-china relations being the world’s most important bilateral relationship, and economics determining much of everything else.

This makes the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies pivotal to all. Multiple spheres in various regions are impacted accordingly.

That much is the main plot in today’s geopolitics. Problems tend to arise when the script is amended without warning, explanation or acknowledgement.

US President Donald Trump has sought a personal meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping since last year, but that will happen only next year. Why does it take two years for such a crucial event to occur?

It is precisely because of the summit’s importance that it has to take so long. Unlike MOUS, summits do not set the tone of an intended agreement but to cap what has already been agreed.

Transnational deals are too important to be left to formal summits with their pomp and pageantry. The serious business of negotiations by government experts and specialists differs vastly from the PR theatre of official photo opportunities.

The months and years between signalling interest in a summit and actually holding it are for senior officials to work out sufficiently agreeable terms to constitute a deal. That period of talks by officials began informally last year between the incoming US administration and China’s incumbent team.

It is a period now effectively coming to a close in ending the trade war, but still only unofficially. The basic agreement that is now done in all but writing has the US broadly conceding to China’s terms.

China is the only country that has pushed back on Trump’s tariffs, with resounding effect as recent events show.

After Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s grating condescension about supplying China with only Nvidia’s sub-par microchips, Beijing blocked all of Nvidia’s chips. Nvidia boss Jensen Huang said China’s own chip development is only “nano seconds behind” his company’s best products.

In agriculture, China has stopped buying US soybeans for supplies from Brazil and elsewhere. With US farmers devastated, China again demonstrated considerable leverage.

With Trump clamping down on countries buying Russian and Iranian oil and gas, India was hit with high additional tariffs, but not China. Instead, China raised Russian gas supplies with the Power of Siberia (POS) pipeline and now also POS 2.

China is also importing more than a million barrels of Iranian oil daily, amounting to almost 90% of Iran’s output. These major purchases were never going to be impacted by US restrictions.

Trump declared victory on Tiktok but it was a net gain for China. Beijing refused to sell Tiktok’s proprietary algorithm, the heart and brain of the winning platform.

A copy of the original algorithm was supplied to US investors, and China’s Bytedance owns just under 20% of US Tiktok – yet is entitled to 50% of US profits. US negotiators must have realised that was the most they could get from China’s tough bargaining position and accepted it.

China has introduced new restrictions on rare earth exports, launched an antitrust probe into US chip giant Qualcomm, and will raise port fees for US ships in return. In virtually every sector China is fighting back through tit-for-tat action and new policies.

If there is still any doubt that China is leading the charge of what remains of the trade war, its use of carrots and sticks to access the US market confirms it. Beijing has offered more than a trillion dollars (RM4.2 trillion) of investment in the US through Chinese companies admitted there.

These could include Chinese electric vehicle companies, which Trump last year said he would invite to the US to provide jobs. Only the stronger economy can dish out inducements of such proportions to the relatively subordinate economy.

Such is the substance of a negotiated trade peace. Ultimately, Trump is less concerned about what actually makes a trade victory than what can be interpreted and portrayed as his personal triumph.

He is anxious to gain snatches of a win between trade skirmishes, however fleeting or questionable, and China is only too happy to provide them to win the trade war. More of this can be expected at next year’s summit.

Meanwhile, Louis Gave of Hong Kong’s Gavekal Research has declared China’s trade war victory. South-east Asia should likewise flip the old script to its favour.

Asean countries are not just collateral economies subjected to the whims of a trade conflict. When China takes a beating, South-east Asia was assumed to be beaten also.

But the US still hopes to obtain from this region what it failed to get from China. To do this it needs to keep up appearances that it is winning over China as the centre of global supply chains.

Asean can call that bluff to protect itself.

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