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| Li Xueren/Xinhua via AP |
China has a well-established record of manipulating the international system to its benefit. It conditions access to its economy on bowing to Beijing’s demands, whether that be on content, sharing proprietary information, or partnering with Chinese businesses.
But there is another, less discussed area in which Beijing games the system: China uses its status as a “developing” country to benefit from provisions and special treatment in treaties and international organizations intended to help poor nations.
China was a low-income country — three decades ago. But today, its economy rivals or surpasses those of other developed countries.
The World Bank credited China with having the world’s second-largest economy in the world in 2021, trailing only the U.S. On a per-capita basis, China ranks in the upper end of the “upper middle-income” group of countries as defined by the World Bank.
In terms of trade and foreign investment, China ranks among the top five of all nations. China has also shifted from development-assistance recipient to donor. The China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University pegs Chinese foreign aid expenditures at roughly $3 billion per year. That places it in the upper third of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development donor nations — on par with Australia, Denmark and Spain.
In short, China walks, talks and acts like a developed economy. China may have deserved classification as a developing country three decades ago. But no longer.
But in international organizations such as the United Nations and some international treaties, China continues to benefit from provisions and differential treatment that is intended to help poor countries. --->READ MORE HERE
China is the world's second-largest economy but retains "developing country" status in international organizations
The House passed a bill Monday to revoke the People’s Republic of China’s "developing country" status in international organizations that give it access to preferential loans and other economic benefits.
Introduced by Reps. Young Kim (R-Calif.) and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the PRC Is Not a Developing Country Act would make it U.S. government policy to oppose the labeling or treatment of the PRC as a developing country under the terms of any treaty or other international agreement to which the U.S. is a party, such as the World Trade Organization. The House advanced the bill on a unanimous vote of 415-0 after it was considered under the fast-track "suspension of the rules" process, which allows for expedited debate and requires a two-thirds majority for passage.
"The PRC exploits their developing country status by applying for development assistance and loans from international organizations despite spending trillions on infrastructure projects in developing countries as part of their debt trap diplomacy scam, known as the Belt and Road Initiative," Kim said in remarks on the House floor. "In fact, PRC’s withdrawal of loans takes away from actual developing countries and helps the PRC finance its Belt and Road program. We are long overdue to level the playing field."
Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) added, "I support this bipartisan measure because it deepens both U.S. engagement in international treaties and organizations while trying to effectively counter the PRC’s own self-interested actions in these forums."
The bill would require the State Dept. to advocate for international organizations to change China’s status from a developing country to an upper middle-income country, high-income country, or developed country. That would better reflect China’s status as the world’s second-largest economy, which trails only the U.S. and accounts for about 18% of the global gross domestic product. --->READ MORE HERE
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