The CCP uses the digital economy as a new battlefield to compete with the U.S.
The “2021 Global Digital Economy White Paper” released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology shows that the scale of the digital economy in the United States is still the number one in the world, at nearly USD 13.6 trillion, accounting for more than 60% of its GDP. The scale of China’s digital economy is 5.4 trillion U.S. dollars, ranking second in the world, with a year-on-year growth of 9.6%, and the world‘s fastest growth rate.
Li Chun, a member of the International Economic and Trade Strategy Group of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China, believes that the CCP has taken the digital economy as a new battlefield against the United States. He said that although most of the global digital platforms are American companies, and most of China’s digital economy companies are in the Chinese market, because the Chinese market is large enough, the CCP can show a stance to compete with the United States. Moreover, the United States has not yet proposed a digital economy development policy and plan, and it has been strategically taken the lead by the CCP.
However, Li Chun also mentioned that the CCP’s strict control of the network runs counter to the direction of the digital economy’s open network. Therefore, the CCP’s participation in the digital economy agreement, competition for the right to speak, and even participation in rule-making will definitely be questioned and fail to meet international standards.
The CCP wants to join DEPA to take the lead in formulating digital economy rules
DEPA is a relatively new agreement that only includes Singapore, Chile, and New Zealand. Compared with the CPTPP, the CCP only needs to obtain the consent of the three countries before it can join. Moreover, this agreement separately proposes an agreement on the digital economy in addition to the existing trade and investment agreements, and is the world‘s first important regulatory arrangement on the digital economy. According to Radio Free Asia’s analysis, the CCP’s move has made it clear that it wants to participate in global economic governance.
Lu Jing, deputy director of the Department of Economics and Trade at Zhejiang University in China, told the media that China (the Communist Party) should strive for more room for rule negotiation and rely on its huge digital trade volume to guide the trend of Asia-Pacific digital trade rules.
Xu Zunci, director of the Research Center of the Taiwan Association of Southeast Asian Nations of the Chinese Economic Research Institute, said that the CCP now wants to join DEPA in order to seize the opportunity when the scale of the agreement is still small. When the scale of DEPA expands and more member states join in the future, the CCP will have more say. In fact, the predecessor of the CPTPP, which now has 11 member states, was also formed and developed by three small countries: Singapore, New Zealand, and Chile.
Li Chun said that DEPA is an international agreement with the content of digital economy rules and cooperation, and the CCP is now applying to join it. The purpose is to participate in the formulation of the rules of the digital economy to ensure that these rules are in their own interests and in the digital economy. Strive for the right to speak and lead.
Xu Zunci believes that this shows the CCP’s attempt to participate in regional integration, and it also shows that it needs to make some adjustments in the deep water area. He said: “This sends a big signal to the world that China (the Communist Party) is ready to participate more actively. Of course, it will have a certain impact on the world and the United States and Taiwan.”
The CCP implements RCEP, intends to enhance trade cooperation with 10 ASEAN countries
The free trade zone covered by RCEP spans 15 countries including Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia, with a population of more than 2.2 billion people, and an economic scale of nearly US$26 trillion, accounting for approximately 30% of global GDP. In terms of GDP, it is the world‘s largest trade agreement.
For Japan, RCEP is the first economic cooperation agreement between China and Japan, which will lead to mutual reduction of tariffs between China and Japan and create new momentum for economic growth. Xu Zunci believes that under the framework of the agreement, the CCP will further discuss more cooperation with Japan, South Korea and other 10 ASEAN countries, which will help its economic recovery.
However, Xu Zunci also mentioned that the member states of the RCEP agreement will also observe whether the CCP can comply with the RCEP regulations and use its performance as a touchstone of whether the CCP can join the CPTPP.
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