China and the United States are not economic adversaries, as decades of bilateral trade have brought mutual benefits to both nations, an American scholar said, adding that U.S. protectionist rhetoric overlooks the broader gains from U.S.-China economic engagement.
In a speech at the European Parliament in February, Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, said that China is not an enemy of the United States, but rather a success story.
During his visit to attend the China Development Forum 2025, Sachs expanded on his remarks in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
"Trade with the U.S. and China during the past 40 years, and especially since the 1990s, has been mutually beneficial. China's rise has helped the United States to advance. The U.S. has helped China to advance. Yes, there are some places where competition from China has meant fewer jobs in the United States. There are many places where it has meant more jobs. For most of the American people, China's growth has been a big benefit. In trade, when certain sectors or places do get hurt by trade -- and that happens -- then they should be helped by regional policy or by redistributional policy, by social support. This is how a normal economy behaves," he said.
In the interview, the scholar praised China's regional development strategy and contrasted it with U.S. policy, arguing that Washington's protectionist stance overlooks the broader benefits of open trade with China.
"When China opened up the economy, it was the eastern part of the country on the coastal areas that benefited the most. So they created very creative ways to promote western China development, so that the benefits of development would also be shared in central and western China. That was a regional development policy that has been quite successful. The United States doesn't have such a policy. If we were as clever as China in its management of such issues, we would be much less protectionist. Trump is appealing to protectionism for particular parts of the American economy, neglecting the fact that the overall U.S. economy is a big beneficiary of U.S.-China open trade," Sachs said.
The China Development Forum 2025 is taking place on March 23-24 in Beijing under the theme "Unleashing Development Momentum for Stable Growth of Global Economy." The high-profile event has brought together 86 official delegates from multinational companies across 21 countries -- a record high.
China, US not economic adversaries as trade proves mutually beneficial for decades: US scholar
