The recent World Conference on China Studies - Shanghai Forum, which concluded on November 24, was one of the largest gatherings of global "China hands." At the two-day forum, more than 400 Chinese and foreign scholars specializing or interested in China studies discussed their insights on Chinese civilization and China's path of development, as well as their impacts on the current global landscape.

During the forum, some of the overseas scholars, including winners of the 2023 Award for Distinguished Contributions to China Studies, shared their personal China experiences, observations, and understandings of Chinese civilization and China's path with the Global Times.

These "China hands" are witnesses to China's modernization and social development, and play an important role as bridges that link China and the world, observers told the Global Times on Monday.

Witnesses and bridges

The forum announced the winners of the 2023 Award for Distinguished Contributions to China Studies on November 24. They included Timothy Brook, professor emeritus at Department of History, University of British Columbia, Baik Young-seo, professor emeritus at Yonsei University, and Kishore Mahbubani, distinguished fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.
Brook and Baik participated in the in-person forum in Shanghai. At an interview on November 23, Brook said that Shanghai "makes him jump." "The Shanghai of today is completely different from that of the 1970s," he told the media in fluent Putonghua. "The city reminds me of New York when I look out of my hotel at the Bund."

Shanghai was one of the starting places that sparked Brook's relationship with China. In 1974, then 23-year-old Brook studied ancient Chinese history and literature at Fudan University as one of the earliest young Canadians to come to China as exchange students. At Fudan, he developed a keen interest in China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and later started his decades of research in Chinese history, particularly into the Ming Dynasty history.

At the forum venue by the Huangpu River, Brook said although he has visited Shanghai many times over the years, he is quite impressed by the development of China's most modernized metropolis during each visit. "I found that Shanghai has 'grown up' to a degree that I've never seen before," he said, as if describing an old friend.

Brook is hailed as one of the best storytellers among North American historians. His many books focusing on China during the period of the Ming Dynasty, such as The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China, open a window for international readers to learn more about Chinese history and civilization.

"I keep writing books about China in order to increase the outside world's understanding of China," Brook told the Global Times.

Brook is among the expanding pool of international scholars in China studies who have, in recent decades, personally experienced China's rapid path to development.
Rachel Murphy, who prefers to go by her Chinese name "Rui Xue (auspicious snow in a literal translation)" in China, was a guest speaker at the forum. As a Chinese Development and Society professor at the University of Oxford and former president of the British Association for Chinese Studies, she has been engaged in China-related research, exploring China's social and cultural changes caused by urbanization, educational development, demographic transition, and state policies.

During the last 20 years, Murphy has travelled to many villages, towns, and cities across China. Her long-term fieldwork makes her an old "China hand."

Murphy marveled at China's tremendous development, especially in the countryside. "China's urbanization is progressing very fast," she told the Global Times during the forum. "The book I wrote [about rural China] before is out of date now."

Murphy shared that a week ahead of the forum, she visited several villages in Anhui Provinces, where she had been to a few years before. She was surprised by the great changes in communication in rural China.

Wi-Fi availability is now commonplace in many villages, enabling "left-behind" children to stay in contact with their migrant worker parents through frequent video calls, said Murphy. She was surprised to see many elderly women like to share their rural lives on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok).

"The speed of technological changes [in China] is truly amazing," Murphy said in Putonghua. "Rural areas included, the ubiquitous nature of 'connection' [across China] is a remarkable achievement."

Among the China studies scholars who attended the forum in Shanghai, Michael Crook, a Chinese Government Friendship Award winner, is a familiar "China hand" to many Chinese people.

Crook's family has been profoundly and closely connected to China. Six generations of his family have worked and lived in China. Born and raised in Beijing, Crook has devoted decades to education in China. Now he teaches children from expatriate families in Beijing Chinese history and culture, acting as a bridge between people in China and the West, especially among the younger generation.

During the forum, Crook told Chinese media that he believes Chinese and Western cultures have their own merits. "They can learn from each other," he said.

A path worthy of reference

Crook was a guest speaker at a sub-forum being held during the Shanghai Forum on November 24. The theme of the sub-forum was "Explorations: Chinese Modernization and China's Path."

Under this theme, many participants of the sub-forum shared their understanding of China's path to modernization, and some highlights of China's path worthy of reference for other countries.

China is a good example of integrating its own development with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNDGs), said economist Ranee Jayamaha, lead consultant for the South Asia-World Bank Group.

She offered how China has launched the Initiative for Belt and Road Partnership on Green Development together with 31 countries, and closely aligned the initiative with the needs of global green development by investing in renewable energy and adopting comprehensive pollution reduction measures as an example.

This is a good story of China's success in positively influencing world development, Jayamaha commented.

Crook mentioned China's ethnic policies, which he thinks can be referenced by multi-ethnic countries.

In a speech he delivered at the sub-forum, Crook recalled his visit to a school in China's Xizang Autonomous Region in May. The school teaches both Putonghua and Tibetan, and entirely permissible for the latter to be spoken in class. The small case shows China respects and supports its ethnic minorities at the national level, said Crook.

With China's rise and its growing international influence, many countries, especially those in the Global South, are interested in Chine's development, and are looking forward to learning from China's experiences, many attendees of the forum told the Global Times.

And these contemporary "China hands" are making efforts to know more about China, exploring China's development path and sharing their observations and understandings with the world.

China is on a multi-dimensional path of development, Josette Altmann-Borbón, secretary general of Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, said in a speech delivered at the forum's opening ceremony on November 24.

We should fully understand the important role China plays on the global stage, she noted.

Despite the large geographical distance between China and the Latin America and Caribbean regions, more regional countries have shown increased enthusiasm at exploring opportunities in the Chinese market during the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE), with the China-Latin America trade volume hitting a record high of $485.8 billion in 2022. 

Companies from Latin American and Caribbean countries displayed their products at the expo, and expressed high hopes in the Chinese market and the possibility of attracting more investment from China, the Global Times learned. 

Honduras, a Central American country that established diplomatic relations with China more than half a year ago, joined the "circle of friends" of the CIIE for the first time and became one of the main guests of honor of the national exhibition.

More than 40 Honduran enterprises in coffee, cigar, red wine, seafood, and other characteristically Honduran industries participated in the Expo, alongside those in tourism, investment, and other fields. The Honduran government is also working to introduce quality products such as cigars, melons, and cocoa into the Chinese market, according to media reports. 

As an "old friend" of the CIIE, Colombia has participated in several events in the past. Since the first session of the CIIE, the country has been an active participant and expressed their confidence in the great opportunities to be found in the Chinese market. Many of Colombia's products have also been recognized and favored by Chinese consumers.

Cuba is also a Latin American country that has participated, for six consecutive years, in the CIIE, which is considered to be a platform to further consolidate the close economic ties and unbreakable friendship between the two countries and enhance bilateral economic ties, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz told the Global Times in an exclusive interview recently. 

Cuba and China have taken advantage of the CIIE to sign a number of cooperation agreements, including in biotechnology and other fields. In addition, Cuba is seeking to promote local products such as cigars and rum to Chinese consumers.

Ahead of the CIIE, the Chinese and Latin American business communities jointly released the "China-LAC Business Cooperation Beijing Initiative," which aims to promote cooperation in the digital economy, agriculture, culture and tourism, as well as the green economy. The initiative aims to build a China-LAC community with a shared future, including promoting digital economic development, advancing agricultural cooperation, enhancing tourism and cultural exchanges, and exploring the green economy.

Building momentum toward COP28, a seminar co-organized by the United Nations in China and the Embassy of Spain, with the support of the Delegation of the European Union, was held on Tuesday at the UNICEF Compound, Beijing. 

The seminar aimed to mediate negotiations and share a preview of China's strategic line at COP28, and spearhead detailed discussions both on China's position and priorities for the upcoming COP28, along with member states and other stakeholders' expectations with a view to advance dialogue in the lead up to COP28.  

Spanish Ambassador to China Rafael Dezcallar de Mazarredo, UN Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee, chief researcher, National Climate Center China Zhang Yongxiang, Ambassador of Brazil to China Marcos Galvao, Ambassador of the European Union to China Jorge Toledo Albinana, Ambassador of Mozambique to China Maria Gustava, and other guests shared their opinions about the urgent solution for climate change and how to ensure COP28 rises to the challenge. 

The Spanish Ambassador stressed that climate change is threatening the very existence of life on earth and people should work together and rise to the challenge. 

"We want to work together with China. We can contribute with our experience on issues such as technological cooperation, energy market reform, energy transition (with its essential components of energy security and emissions neutrality), and energy efficiency. We are open to increase our cooperation in all fields," he told the Global Times and expressed his sincere cooperation willingness with China in dealing with climate change. 

The final objective of the seminar was for all parties to have a greater level of understanding on each other's positions in advance of COP28, a shared understanding of the importance of the Global Stocktake at COP28, and generate ideas on how to develop paths that can lead to ambitious agreements and actions at COP28.

China is expected to introduce new evaluation criteria for three centrally-administered auto companies, reported Economic Observer on Saturday, a move that aims to encourage investment and mergers and accelerate the companies’ development in the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector.

The new evaluation criteria for the three centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will include a range of new indicators such as market share, profit structure, technological innovation, and safety production, as per the Economic Observer report.

The three major central auto SOEs are FAW Group, Changan Automobile and Dongfeng Motor Corporation Ltd., all of which are early players in the Chinese NEV sector but have not shown significant growth in recent years. 

In 2023, the three centrally-administered auto SOEs made significant strides by investing nearly 36 billion yuan into NEVs ($5 billion), accounting for over 60 percent of their total investment, Gou Ping, vice chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), said on Saturday. 

While centrally-administered auto SOEs possess considerable technological reserves in the NEV domain, cautious investment strategies due to regulatory and other factors have led to them missing out on opportunities resulting from intense market competition, the Economic Observer report said, citing an unnamed insider from the SOEs.

During the recently concluded two sessions, Zhang Yuzhuo, the head of SASAC, stated that SOEs are not developing fast enough in the NEV area and policies would be adjusted for separate assessments of the three centrally-administered auto SOEs.

Experts have pointed out that the existing evaluation criteria for SOEs do not fit the rapidly evolving NEV industry, which requires fast-paced iterations of vehicles and core components. Misalignment has reportedly dampened the investment enthusiasm of these companies, causing them to miss development opportunities, as per the Economic Observer.

The three centrally-administered auto SOEs have set ambitious targets for 2024, with FAW Group and Changan Automobile aiming to achieve NEV sales of 500,000 and 750,000 units, respectively, while Dongfeng Motor Corporation Ltd. plans to fully electrify its leading passenger car brands this year and aims to exceed 1 million units in NEV sales by 2025.

Gou said on Saturday that the centrally-administered auto SOEs will play to heir advantages, utilize their industrial resources and take a correct view toward the gaps and shortcomings in terms of their development in the NEV sector to accelerate transformation.

An SASAC official revealed that in addition to the NEV sector, SASAC intends to develop multi-dimensional evaluation indicators for several strategic emerging industries to promote their development, Economic Observer reported.

A recent theory claiming that a surge in China's exports has put "jobs around the world in jeopardy" reached its culmination after Chinese official data revealed that China's exports, measured in yuan terms, rose 10.3 percent year-on-year in January and February. Regardless of whether or not China's exports increase, Western media outlets can always find ways to smear China's economy. It seems they have largely lost the ability to objectively assess China's economic performance.

Among the discussions surrounding how the Chinese economy performs, its exports have become a focus of media attention. As an interesting comparison, the New York Times published an article in August 2023 criticizing the Chinese economy, stating that a decline in China's exports can be seen as a major indicator of a "stalling economy," which poses alarming risks for economies around the planet. 

However, on Tuesday - only several months later - the very newspaper published another article that once again criticized China, this time claiming an increase in China's exports has put jobs around the world in jeopardy. It's ironic that China's exports, no matter whether they increase or decline, can be used as an excuse to attack and smear the Chinese economy.

Vacillating between the "China collapse" theory and the "China threat" theory, some Westerners say China's expansion in the exports of steel, cars, consumer electronics and solar panels is coming partly at other countries' expense, stealing their manufacturing jobs. Nevertheless, these same people who formerly rebuked China because its exports were not strong enough said that a slowdown in China's economy would hurt, rather than help, the rest of the world. 

Combining the rhetoric of the "China collapse" theory and "China threat" theory confuses many people. So, what exactly does China's economy look like?

It is not surprising that China's export sectors experienced a hard time last year in the face of multiple challenges such as the sluggish external demand, the rise of trade protectionism in the West and the "decoupling" maneuver of the US, but, if people look at the whole picture, official data showed that China's exports, measured in yuan terms, rose 0.6 percent year-on-year in 2023. There is no sign of a systemic risk in China's trade. What has collapsed is the "China collapse" theory, not China's export-oriented sectors.

China's merchandise trade in the first two months of 2024 hit a record high of 6.61 trillion yuan ($919 billion), up 8.7 percent year-on-year, beating forecasts and signaling a good start to the new year. Exports rose 10.3 percent to 3.75 trillion yuan while imports were up 6.7 percent to 2.86 trillion yuan.

With a rebound in China's exports, Western media and politicians seem to have hyped up a new round of the "China threat" theory. That stems from the fear of a rise in China's strength, because some companies in Western countries are concerned that competitors from China may seize their vested interests.

However, it is unfair to protect backward production capacity in some Western countries. A most likely consequence is that consumers have to accept higher prices. In addition, the industrialization process will also slow down.

According to UN standards, traded goods can be classified into three categories: capital goods, intermediate goods and consumer goods. China is a major player in intermediate goods trade. Official data show China has been the world's largest exporter of intermediate goods for 12 consecutive years. In 2023, the import and export of intermediate goods reached 25.53 trillion yuan, accounting for 61.1 percent of China's foreign trade value.

Intermediate goods include raw materials, semi-finished products and components. As China pursues modernization through high-quality development, innovation driven by sci-tech progress has become a new growth engine for the country's economy. 

Now, the country exports more and more high value-added industrial products, including core components and electronics parts, to other countries in the global supply chains. At a time when the restructuring of the global industry chain seems to have accelerated, China's exports of intermediate products have played a positive role in stabilizing the global industrial chain.

Some countries in Asia are in a stage of rapid industrialization. Before these countries establish complete industrial chains, their demand for imported intermediate products is huge. China and these countries have the potential to further strengthen cooperation. From the perspective of these countries, China's exports of intermediate goods represent opportunities for further industrialization rather than threats to their manufacturing jobs.

The "China threat" theory has turned into a threat to the global economy and its industrialization process. However, as long as we combine the interests of the Chinese economy with common interests of the world, the "China threat" theory would end up becoming a "China opportunity" theory.

China and Australia are making efforts to address mutual concerns through dialogue and consultation, which will help improve the momentum in bilateral relations, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a routine press conference on Wednesday.

Wang made the remarks in response to a media inquiry on whether the Chinese government is to lift tariffs on Australian wine. Recently, Australian officials and media outlets have claimed that China is prepared to remove the import tax.

"What I can tell you is that for some time, China and Australia have engaged in dialogue and consultation to address each other's concerns properly and jointly worked to realize a momentum of improvement and growth in the bilateral relations," Wang said.

"I'd refer you to competent authorities for your specific questions," the spokesperson said.

China stands ready to continue stepping up dialogue and cooperation with Australia under the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and seeking common ground while shelving differences, so as to promote the steady and sound growth of China-Australia relations, Wang noted.

China and Australia are jointly addressing the wine dispute, with both sides approaching the matter with a candid and pragmatic attitude, Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The eagerness from the Australian side underscores the importance of the Chinese market as a major destination for the Australia's exports. Despite attempts by some players in the Australian wine industry to explore alternative markets, none can match the scale and growth speed of China, Chen said.

There is a strong anticipation that issues, including Australian lobster imports, could be resolved soon, as long as the Australian side avoids politicization of trade issues, Chen noted.

In 2019, Australian wine dominated China's market with a 35.54 percent share, surpassing France and securing the largest market share, according to media reports. However, this position was compromised following the deteriorating bilateral relations.

The previous market share of Australian wine in China was mostly taken over by wines from France, Chile and Italy.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) began reviewing the anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Australian wine from November 30, 2023. The tariff on Australian wine was first levied on March 28, 2021.

Australian government officials and media outlets have frequently brought the issue up, indicating the great eagerness of Australian winemakers to return to the Chinese market.

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said on Sky News on Sunday that he was hopeful China would lift tariffs on Australian wine once a review is completed by the end of March, and progress is also being made on exporting lobsters to China, Reuters reported.

In a response to Farrell's statement, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said at an event on Monday that China's review of tariffs on Australian wine is progressing well, but Xiao did not confirm that the dispute would be resolved this month, according to Reuters.

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), an Australian global winemaker, said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday that it has been advised that the MOFCOM has released an interim draft determination which proposes the removal of current tariffs China imposed on Australian wine imports.

The draft is not a final determination, TWE said, extending its anticipation that a final determination would be released in the coming weeks.

The frequent and active interactions of the Chinese and Australian officials also served as a crucial positive sign that more trade disputes would be resolved.

On February 26, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with Don Farrell, calling for strengthened cooperation in China's joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The meeting marked a new attempt to build closer bilateral trade ties.

Apart from resolving traditional trade disputes, Chen expressed his optimism that the China-Australia relationship has room for further advancement in much broader areas, highlighting the potential in burgeoning fields such as clean energy and the digital economy.

Additionally, Chen noted the importance of Australia adopting an open and sincere attitude toward Chinese investment, without succumbing to politically driven motivations influenced by the US over the so-called national security reasons. This open and sincere attitude is crucial for fostering a healthier and more sustainable future in bilateral relations, said Chen.

China's central government has unveiled this year's GDP growth target, at about 5 percent, on par with last year's rate. The target has made market investors rejoice, giving them higher confidence in an across-the-board revival of China-related equities and other assets in the coming months. As expected, the country's A-share market has held on to strong gains in the past two weeks of robust trading.

But not all are elated with China's growth target. A good number of Western politicians and media pundits have claimed it is "too aggressive and lofty," a goal that may not be pulled off. Some of them are annoyed and disgruntled with China's resolve, and have started to curse the Chinese economy, predicting it will "capsize" and never close the current gap with the GDP of the US in nominal terms.

It's laughable and mean to diminish and denigrate others' economies. Last year, amid the Western media chorus of "China's economic collapse," the country's GDP expanded by 5.2 percent over a year earlier, with yearly added output value of more than 6 trillion yuan ($835 billion). 

Compared with 2023, when China had just bid goodbye to the protracted and distressing three-year pandemic, there are better and riper conditions now to pursue a growth rate of about 5 percent in 2024. The lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been largely eliminated, and nearly all the fundamentals of the economy have been rehabilitated and shored up, which paves the way for a possible takeoff this year. 

The central government is ready to fuel the economy in 2024 with a volley of growth-reinforcing stimulus policies, to be whipped up by a new mandate - brewing new quality productive forces to help build a stronger and greater country. 

China is currently leading in the global endeavor in green and renewable energy, in electric vehicle and high-end battery development, in high-speed mobile telecom networks and railway roll-outs, in autonomous driving, deep space, modern robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other advanced sectors of information technology research and development. Naturally and consequentially, the country will be a front-runner in finding and creating new quality productive forces.

During a press conference held at the sidelines of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress recently, China's leading economic planners and policymakers discussed the magnitude of macro stimulus and overall policy direction for this year and beyond. 

Collectively, officials displayed elevated confidence before global audiences that they are upbeat about realizing this year's growth targets, despite facing worldwide volatility including wars, conflicts, rising economic protectionism and technology isolation. 

As to whether the GDP growth target of 5 percent is attainable, Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said it was set   following the central government's comprehensive assessment, "taking into account current and long-term needs and possibilities" and the target is "a positive goal reachable with a jump," meaning through earnest hard work. 

Lan Fo'an, the finance minister, and Pan Gongsheng, the governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, pledged more fiscal and monetary policy support to boost the economic revival. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao announced plans for a large-scale national trade-in event this year, aiming at replacing outdated manufacturing equipment, worn-out cars and home appliances to propel domestic consumption.

Wu Qing, head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, vowed to significantly tighten capital market oversight to prevent irrational volatility.

Fiscally, China plans to issue an additional 3.9 trillion yuan in local government bonds in 2024 to support local government coffers, providing more financial resources for infrastructure construction and rural revitalization, including an initiative to dole out more welfare benefits to elderly rural residents. 

The central government will issue ultra-long special treasury bonds starting this year and over each of the next several years to ramp up fiscal stimulus to support overall economic growth. 

Monetarily, the central bank said it still has sufficient policy room in its toolbox. In contrast to other major economies, China isn't burdened by high inflation, which enables the central bank to maintain a lower interest rate policy and provide ample market liquidity. This will benefit Chinese business expansion, aid consumer spending and ratchet up overall economic activity in 2024. 

Last month, the central bank reduced the benchmark five-year interest rate by 25 basis points. This move aims to ease the long-term burden on enterprises and is expected to significantly benefit the real estate sector, as the mortgage rates were lowered accordingly. 

The economy has gotten off to a very strong start, as evidenced by steadily rising foreign trade. In the first two months, China's merchandise exports rose 10.3 percent year-on-year. 

Meanwhile, the number of tourists who ventured out during the eight-day Chinese Lunar New Year holidays marked a staggering increase of 19 percent compared with the pre-pandemic number in 2019. 

The upbeat figures show China's economic activity is rapidly gaining pace. With the government's enhanced fiscal and monetary stimulus, backed up by an improving stock market performance, the momentum for growth will accumulate and consistently build. 

Provided China continues to focus on tech innovation, foster new quality productive forces and stick to the opening-up policy, typically helping its Belt and Road Initiative partners and the Global South to develop and prosper, the central government's development blueprint for 2035 - when GDP is to double from the 2020 level - isn't out of reach at all. 

The Biden administration moved on Thursday to block Chinese-made electric vehicles from entering the US market, claiming that internet-connected EVs "pose risks to national security" because the vehicles' software systems could send sensitive information of American drivers back to China. Under Biden's direction, the US Commerce Department has commenced a probe into these "security risks," which may lead to new restrictions on import of Chinese EVs.

The US government's new policy toward China is driven by trade protectionism, offering the world further evidence of economic bullying and coercion. 

The policy is designed to stop low-cost Chinese EVs, whether manufactured in China or assembled by Chinese companies in countries like Mexico, from entering the US and potentially threatening American ICE (internal combustion engine) automakers. Washington also seems to be walking back its transition to a carbon-free economy, despite the Biden administration's claims of leading the world in this direction. 

It is okay for US auto companies to take advantage of cheaper labor in Mexico or other countries, but Chinese car companies are criticized for their lower labor costs. What's this logic? Now that China has developed better EV technology, America suddenly feels disadvantaged. It is not about security, just profits for US automakers addicted to assembling gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs. Almost all EVs require internet access for their navigation systems, but Chinese-made cars pose a security risk, so this is just a scare tactic played by Washington to justify protectionist measures. 

Chinese enterprises have made significant investments in renewable technology, leading the way in clean, new-energy industrial transformation. Chinese consumers have shown a growing awareness of environmental protection, with over 9.49 million EVs sold in 2023, accounting for nearly 32 percent of all vehicle sales. This stands in stark contrast to the US, where only 1.18 million EVs were sold, making up just 7.6 percent of the market.

As ICE cars decline in China and electric vehicles become more prevalent, major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have seen a significant reduction in air pollution. The success of Chinese EVs highlights the country's commitment to sustainable transportation and environmental protection.

The benefits of mass deployment of EVs are obvious. The fierce competition among dozens of Chinese EV makers has driven EV prices constantly down. It is the affordability of Chinese-made EVs that effectively ramps up their market penetration in China, where throngs of consumers are changing their ICE vehicles to EVs. For example, the $11,000 plug-in Seagull brand manufactured by BYD, the world's largest EV manufacturer, has received good reviews and is also affordable for many Chinese and overseas buyers. 

Even mainstream US media outlets acclaim China's clean, new-energy vehicle effort. They admit that China has rapidly ratcheted up EV investment, innovation and production in recent years, but China's effort sets it on a collision course with the US government's plan seeking to help lumbering American automakers, the likes of Ford, and GM and Stellantis, dominate the auto market at home and aboard. 

But it is problematic for the US government to conjure up the national security issue to protect the "Detroit Three" and keep cheaper and better foreign-made EVs off the road in America. 

The Biden administration's use of "national security" is nothing but a cover for trade protectionism, aimed at restricting normal trade and investment in the name of actual national security concerns, which many in the world see clearly as nothing more than an economic smokescreen. The administration is just using national security as an excuse to protect their own political interests, and the highly protectionist and coercive economic policy won't bode well for America in the long run. 

The previous Trump administration had already imposed excessive 27.5 percent tariffs on Chinese-made cars, and the Biden administration's latest measure is one more step to restrict competition for EVs that will only cause US consumers to pay more for what they could buy on the US market. 

US media outlets revealed that Biden's new measure stemmed from conversations with Detroit automakers, union autoworkers and Tesla. Biden released a statement accompanying the policy announcement, saying "China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market including by using unfair practices. China's policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I'm not going to let that happen on my watch."

But a good number of American consumers don't take the side of their government. They spoke out their disapproval in social media, sarcastically. Two posts read: "Seriously, China is spying on us through their electric vehicles? The paranoid thoughts have deprived us from using Huawei cellphones or flying DJI hobby drones." "Do we want to make electric vehicles affordable for the average American? Or do we want to make sure only the rich can afford electric cars? Stop protecting our automakers that make $70,000 behemoths instead of importing much more useful $20,000 economy cars."

Nevertheless, American automakers will praise "the invisible hand of the market" played by the Biden administration to protect them to continue to churn out large, overpowered and overpriced gas guzzlers. What is actually going on in Washington is the government trying to justify economic protectionism to temporarily protect American automakers. The result is that vast US consumers will pay more for those dirty guzzlers poisoning the air. In a sense, the alleged security threat posed by inexpensive Chinese EVs sounds more like a "security threat" to the stock prices of US automakers which don't see developing and producing low-priced EVs as sufficiently profitable. 

As the US presidential election is to be held in the coming November, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are competing to be seen as tougher on China. But the "who's tougher battle" or political pandering is hurting broadly American consumers' pocketbooks and the environment. 

The A-share market experienced a notable rebound on Thursday, with the Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) surpassing the 3,000-point threshold and all three major Chinese indexes ending the month on a positive note and breaking a six-month streak of losses.

The rally came as the top securities regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), has taken strong measures to regulate the market and impose heavy penalties on those who break the trading rules under its new leader, Wu Qing, who was appointed on February 7.

The SCI rose by 1.94 percent on Thursday, the Shenzhen Component Index went up by 3.13 percent, and the ChiNext Index gained 3.32 percent. More than 5,200 shares gained, with more than 100 hitting their daily limits.

Statistics from financial data provider Wind showed that northbound funds hit a seven-month record for single-day net purchases at 16.603 billion yuan ($2.31 billion). Total net purchases in February exceeded 60 billion yuan, the highest in nearly 13 months.

Favorable policies have played an important role in the market rally, Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund Management Co, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"The CSRC under its new leader has been proactive in implementing reforms, including holding a dozen of symposiums to gather feedback from various stakeholders. This transparent and determined approach has greatly boosted investor confidence and led to a trend reversal in the market," Yang said.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange held a symposium with eight listed companies on Wednesday focusing on promoting the quality of listed companies and accelerating the formation of new productive forces.

The listed companies have agreed to focus on science and innovation, strengthen their core competitiveness, and reward investors. They also suggest strengthening the supervision of listed companies throughout the entire process, tightening IPO issuance, cracking down on financial fraud, and rigorously delisting companies that do not meet the standards.

A hedge fund company had 8.93 million yuan of illegal gains confiscated for excessive high-frequency trading in share index futures by the China Financial Futures Exchange, the latest move by the regulatory authorities to crack down on illegal trading and revive investors' confidence.

The CSRC said that it will strengthen regulatory oversight of various trading activities, including high-frequency trading, and crack down on market misconduct in accordance with the law and regulations.

The CSRC also said that it would strengthen the supervision of Direct Market Access Strategy (DMA) products. "Steadily reducing leverage in the DMA business helps prevent and control market risks, and is good for the stable and healthy operations of the market," the CSRC said in a statement on Wednesday.

The CSRC held a symposium on Tuesday and pledged to further strengthen the rule of law in the capital market to support its high-quality development, consolidate the market's fundamentals, stabilize expectations and benefit it in the long term.

The meeting emphasized the need to ramp up enforcement efforts in administrative, civil, and criminal responsibilities, and to bolster "zero tolerance" law enforcement.

This followed 10 back-to-back meetings on February 18 and 19, right after the Chinese New Year holidays, where the CSRC solicited suggestions on regulations, risk prevention and high-quality development from market participants.

The meeting stressed improving the quality of listed companies at the source, with more focus on strict control over IPO access and stepped-up supervision and inspection of companies with IPO plans and crackdowns on financial fraud.

On the Chinese Lunar New Year's eve, the CSRC announced penalties for illegal activities, demonstrating its determination to create an open, fair and just market environment, Yang said.

The CSRC released a list of penalties on February 9 involving IPO fraud and illegal stock trading by industry professionals.

The penalty list includes a fine of 16.5 million yuan for IPO fraud committed by semiconductor start-up S2C EDA. In another instance, the CSRC fined 63 securities professionals from China Merchants Securities Co involved in illegal stock trading, and it imposed penalties totaling 81.73 million yuan.

The CSRC on February 5 listed several cases of suspected market manipulation and "malicious short selling" and vowed to severely punish those engaged in such illegal activities.

The regulator warned that it would maintain "zero tolerance," resolutely crack down on illegal activities, and ensure that those who dare to manipulate the market and engage in malicious short-selling will be bankrupted and jailed.