The U.S.– China trade war is about more than just trade deficits. It is also about technological/economic/political rivalry between the world’s two largest economies. China’s economic restructuring/rebalancing indirectly caused the trade war; Chinese history and culture impact trade negotiations. The trade war may trigger a worldwide economic decoupling and de-globalization process.

For most Westerners, China is no longer a mysterious land of the Far East with its ancient Great Wall and Terracotta Warriors. Products we use every day, from our children’s toys to the tee-shirts we wear, are made in China. In addition, for the past two years, the media has been filled with news about a trade war between the United States and China. Then, beginning in early 2020, the world grappled with a pandemic of COVID-19, a highly contagious virus that spread worldwide following an initial reported outbreak in central China.

But how much do you really know about China? For example, are you aware of the following facts about China:

1. China and the United States are similar in geographic size, but China has 4.3 times more people than does the U.S.
2. China will become a super-aged society in 15 years, with 400 million 65+ seniors, 30 million more than the entire combined population of the U.S. and Canada in 2019.
3. It is difficult for a Chinese man to find a wife. In 2019, there were 40 million more Chinese men than women under the age of 40.
4. China is a socialist country, but has a unique market-based economic system.
5. In 1978, China was one of the poorest countries in the world (ranked 155th). In 2010, it became the world’s 2nd largest economy. China’s GDP increased 9100% (91 times) in 40 years (1978-2018).
6. More than 4,000 Chinese die of air pollution every day.
7. In 2018, Americans consumed 68% of what they produced (% of GDP) while Chinese consumed only 39%. The world average in 2018 was 58%.
8. Income inequality in China is just as bad as it is in the U.S.
9. For nearly 1800 years, China was a major world power at the forefront of technology.
10. Your new Chinese colleague’s name is Lu Yao. Lu is his family name (or surname), and Yao is his given name.
This book primarily focuses on the U.S.-China trade war that began in 2018. But the trade war is about much more than trade. The 10 facts you just read above all are related to this already two-year long trade battle.
This book discusses in-depth how China’s economic restructuring and rebalancing indirectly led to the U.S.-China trade war, and why the outcomes of future trade negotiations will be determined heavily by non-trade related factors – from the Chinese side, by China’s one-party political system, aging demographics, unique culture and history, environmental degradation, technological advancement, and challenging economic imbalances; from the American side, mainly by political considerations, including those relating to the 2020 presidential election, as well as perceived economic and technological rivalries with China.
The U.S.-China trade war is the opening battle in what is likely to be a decades-long struggle between the world’s top two economies. It is the beginning of paradigm shifts in international relations and the global balance of power.

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Priscilla Liang

Priscilla Liang is a Professor of Finance at California State University, Channel Islands.
Dr. Liang was born and raised in China. She has spent roughly half of her life in China and half in the United States. She has extensive business experience in both countries, and witnessed first-hand the early years of China’s economic reforms that eventually transformed the country.
Dr. Liang began her academic career in 2000. She has taught at different campuses of the California State University system (Channel Islands, Cal Poly Pomona, and San Bernardino) as well as at Azusa Pacific University. Her research to date has focused on financial markets and asset pricing in Asian and BRICS countries.
Dr. Liang has a broad interest in the cultures and histories of the East and the West, as well as in the political, economic and social systems of Eastern and Western countries. She is particularly interested in studying the social, political and economic differences and similarities between China and the United States, and she hopes to increase understanding and promote communication between the peoples of these two great nations.
Dr. Liang graduated from Beijing Normal University with a B.S. in Education Administration. After relocating to the United States, Dr. Liang received an MBA in Finance from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and a Ph.D. in Financial Economics from Claremont Graduate University.