Interview: U.S. is the true economic coercer, says Japanese economist

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The United States is de facto the world's most ruthless economic coercer and the recently-issued Group of Seven (G7) Hiroshima Leaders' Communique is nothing but another attempt by Washington to curb China's growth, Hidetoshi Tashiro, chief economist of Japan's Infinity LLC., has said.

"The joint statement will restrict or even deny free trade, which has been facilitating global economic growth," the expert told Xinhua, adding that it tries to impede the development of the world economy, undermine international supply chains, and set up obstacles for collaboration among countries.

"Non-market policies and practices ... that distort global competition, trade and investment" are exactly what the United States has been proactively resorting to, Tashiro said.

It is also the United States that has blocked the appointment of new judges to the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO), making the dispute settlement organ dysfunctional.

The economist further said that the United States is trying to suppress China like it did with Japan in the 1980s, which was also a victim of U.S. economic coercion.

Seeing Japan's semiconductor industry as a threat back then, the United States imposed retaliatory tariffs and forced Japan to sign the U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement.

As a result of the U.S. coercive measures, Japanese semiconductor enterprises were largely driven out of global competition. Meanwhile, with the support of the U.S. government, a large number of U.S. semiconductor enterprises took the opportunity and grabbed a larger market share.

Through the G7 Hiroshima Leaders' Communique, the United States is trying to make China "the Japan of the 1980s," Tashiro said.

However, the economist said, the United States' wishful thinking could lead to nothing, as its hegemony is declining and more countries are benefiting from cooperating with China.

No companies, even those in the G7 countries, are willing to withdraw from the huge Chinese market to the detriment of their own profits, he noted.

"China is the largest driver of global economic growth, whose economic growth has benefited not only developed countries but also emerging and developing ones as a whole," Tashiro said.

Given the huge economic significance of China, Tashiro said, it is in the common interest of all that China and the United States, the world's two largest economies, can reduce confrontation and enhance cooperation in all areas.