US and Its Allies Challenge China’s Challenge
By John Perkins
In 2017 I spoke at two International economic conferences, one in St. Petersburg, Russia and the other in Astana, Kazakhstan. They were attended by more than 12,000 people. Other speakers included Russian President Vladimir Putin (back when he seemed somewhat reasonable), UN Secretary General António Guterres, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. From my new book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, 3rd Edition: China’s EHM Strategy; Ways to Stop the Global Takeover, available now for preorder)
At these two conferences, I saw that the New Silk Road had turned the corner from concept to reality. While the United States had been bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, China had built alliances that now established it as the world’s alternate superpower. Dubbed by several speakers as “the Chinese century,” this new era was extolled as a model for countries that hoped to do now as China had done in the four decades since implementing Deng’s 1978 development strategies. . . .China had experienced an average annual economic growth rate of nearly 10 percent for three decades and elevated more than 700 million people out of extreme poverty.
By 2022, the situation had changed. A combination of the pandemic and Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, along with other factors, had resulted in a slow-down in China’s decades-long economic growth. At the same time, it seemed that the G-7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) had woken up. The Devex Newsletter wrote that these countries had joined forces:
[...] by announcing major infrastructure initiatives targeting low- and middle-income countries clearly aimed at providing an alternative to China’s ambitious plan to invest an estimated $1 trillion in emerging economies by 2027. . . .
The latest such effort, announced Sunday, is the G-7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, or PGII, which aims to mobilize $600 billion by 2027. It follows the U.K.’s new development strategy and the EU’s new “Global Gateway” initiative, which aim to spend £500 million and mobilize €300 billion, respectively, in low- and middle-income countries. . . .
The PGII seems to repackage the G-7’s “Build Back Better World” partnership announced last year, though the White House said that this is the outcome of that effort. The United States said it will mobilize $200 billion of the total funding. (1)
Although the Soviet Union had collapsed, the US EHM strategy continued in full force. In what can only be described as misguided arrogance, the US fumbled. China grabbed the ball. The book continues:
It occurred to me that I and my fellow EHMs had been overly confident that the world wanted us, our corporations, and our military. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, that high level of confidence became hubris. China’s EHMs were not about to make the same mistakes. They were playing to the pride of other countries and promoting the prosperity that would accompany the interconnected trade routes (touted as China’s New Silk Road).
Not only did it seem that the G-7 had finally made a commitment to challenge China’s growing global economic influence; it also appeared that they were committed to making investments that would address some of the most serious crises facing the world.Devexwrote of PGII,
There are four priorities: tackling climate change and improving energy security, expanding secure digital networks, advancing gender equality and equity, and improving health infrastructure and global health security. (2)
Although this is good news, it is also important to recognize that the real hope for a sustainable world, one that our children will want to inherit, lies in these two powerful economic forces learning to cooperate. Per Confessions, 3rd Edition:
The US and China combined contribute 43 percent to the world economy (in 2021, the US provided about 25 percent of global GDP and China 18 percent, with third-place Japan at a mere 5 percent). [1] Together, these two countries are the major causes of climate change, contributing 43 percent of global fossil fuel CO2 (in 2019 the US produced 14 percent and China 29 percent, with third-place India at 7 percent). [2] The US and China can disagree on a multitude of issues, but it is essential that they collaborate on co-creating a thriving future, a life economy. It is time to end the narcissistic fable that some people have the right to subjugate others, that humans are supreme over nature, that a few elites have special privileges, and that military and economic might makes right. It is time to realize that we—you and I—are living at a critical moment in history.
There can be no question that we are marching toward the precipice. And it is time to turn back, to reverse this pattern that has been destroying life on this planet as we know it. We are all victims, and we are collaborators. As consumers, investors, and workers we support the system. We are challenged and we are blessed with the opportunity to change.
To gain a better understanding of the ways China’s economic hit men have learned from the successes and failures of the US’s EHMs – and approaches you can take to participate in this movement to transform degenerative global systems into regenerative ones – order Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, 3rd Edition.
By pre-ordering now, you can join me for a free 90-minute virtual program, valued at $220 USD. I will discuss attempts that were made to block the publication of my books and to poison me — and I will describe the challenges I faced writing about China’s EHMs. The programs will include ample time for questions and discussions; recordings will be available.