CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA ¨C Early last month, China¡¯s rubber-stamp legislature, the National People¡¯s Congress, officially approved the country¡¯s 14th Five-Year Plan. The strategy was supposed to demonstrate that China has a long-term economic vision that will enable it to thrive, despite the country¡¯s geopolitical contest with the United States.
But before the ink on the NPC¡¯s stamp could dry, China had already begun sabotaging the plan¡¯s chances of success.
The 14th Five-Year Plan¡¯s centerpiece is the ¡°dual-circulation¡± strategy, according to which China will aim to foster growth based on domestic demand and technological self-sufficiency. This will not only reduce China¡¯s reliance on external demand; it will also increase the reliance of its major trading partners ¡ª except the U.S. ¡ª on access to its market and increasingly high-tech manufactures.
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