Living with China

Living with China makes the case to Canadians to adopt a forward-looking China strategy that recognizes forty years of successful reforms as foundations of President Xi Jinping’s ambitious long game to 2049, the centenary of the founding of the People’s Republic. Looking forward, market reforms will be key drivers of China’s long-term growth yet Chinese policy is ambivalent about the potential dangers of spontaneous market forces undermining the Party’s central goal of political stability. These tensions are pointed out in the book’s early chapters that outline what Canadians need to know about the Chinese economy. Getting the foundations right by growing at sustainable rates and dealing with unproductive state-owned enterprises; promoting innovation as a future growth driver and modernizing the fragile financial system are all works in progress where tensions between ‘plan’ and market forces are apparent. Two chapters also examine how Chinese enterprises are going global through direct investments and participation in the dynamic but troubled Belt and Road Initiative.

Urging Canadians to up their game with a China strategy takes place in an environment of rising tensions over trade and technology, evident in negotiating the ‘new NAFTA’ with Americans and doing business with Huawei, the China-based telecommunication giant. Living with China is one of the first comprehensive volumes to be published in Canada on a forward-looking Canada-China strategy. The recommended strategy includes more leadership from top officials, building a Canada brand, strengthening our international human capital, addressing security issues and negotiating bilateral trade and investment liberalization. The book also points out the importance of addressing such key issues as intellectual property protection, cybersecurity and discussing value differences such as respect for individual rights.