Heine Discusses China’s Global Standing
On December 25, 2020 Ambassador Jorge Heine, Research Professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was quoted in a South China Morning Post article discussing China’s prominence on the world stage and how it’s positioned itself as an alternative to the United States for trade and investment.
In the article, titled “China’s fumble: Beijing dropped the ball after Donald Trump’s US left the global stage, analysts say,” explores how China pledged to fill a global leadership vacuum left by the U.S. and President Donald Trump’s “America first” agenda as well as how the country squandered it’s chance to improve its global standing. While China has largely been unable to improve its standing with industrialized countries, Heine points out that countries seeking foreign investment are looking to China and the economic opportunities it presents.
An excerpt:
Polling suggests that Beijing’s approval ratings have declined most among industrialised countries more concerned with civil liberties, less so with African and Latin American nations focused on development.
‘The United States is a geopolitical competitor with China, therefore their concerns are how you keep being No 1,’ said Jorge Heine, a Boston University professor and Chile’s former ambassador to China. ‘But if you want to develop and need infrastructure, trade, foreign investment, and China is the No 1 capital exporter in the world, it’s a bit of a no-brainer.’
The full article can be read on the South China Morning Post‘s website.
Ambassador Jorge Heine is a Research Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He has served as ambassador of Chile to China (2014-2017), to India (2003-2007) and to South Africa (1994-1999), and as a Cabinet Minister in the Chilean Government. Read more on him on his Pardee School faculty profile.