America Does Not Fear Criticism and Neither Should China

Some time ago, a well-known media outlet aggressively criticized Goldman Sachs and other investment banks for flip-flopping between praising and condemning China’s economy and in doing so causing considerable trouble for China. This outlet overestimated Goldman’s influence; the success or failure of an economy is not determined by praise or criticism. At most, the recent criticism of the Chinese economy could have caused hot money to pull out, which is not harmful in the grand scheme of things. In fact, it aids China’s economic transition to some degree. Moreover, international capital is not completely swayed by Goldman; there are still those who intend to increase their investments in China. Although the Chinese economy is currently facing some challenges in its transition, we should be confident in its ability to move forward steadily, as long as we are calm and decisive in implementing appropriate measures and regulations to fully realize the underlying advantages of our economic system and reforms.

America is not averse to criticism either; it has never shied away from criticizing its own economy. After the Second World War, there have been at least eight periods of contention in which America critiqued its own economy for its shortcomings. Foreign voices have continually shared their critiques as well. Yet the American economy does not appear to have been adversely affected. Rather, America has taken advantage of the discussion and criticisms to patch up its economy to a certain extent. As for the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008 and the ensuing financial crisis, these were not caused by commentary; they were the result of innate defects of the U.S. economic system. Nor will America’s eventual capacity to emerge from the crisis be determined by praise or criticism. Instead, one must look at whether it has the resiliency and potential to rebound.

The facts tell us that, whether it’s the U.S. or China, economic ups and downs are not driven by praise or criticism. And since America does not fear criticism, neither should China. Instead, China should to draw useful conclusions from the criticism in order to develop its economy in a healthier manner.

(The author is a former Chinese ambassador to India and former director of the Policy Research Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.)