China is not holding back in its battle with the West. "The scale of coercion is growing"

China often resorts to economic coercion in its relations with the West - according to an analysis published by the Financial Observer. Countries that cross the red line related to issues such as the sovereignty of Tibet, military presence in a given region, or image, must be prepared for Beijing's response.

China is treating its Western partners in an increasingly decisive manner. Ewa Radomska, adjunct at the Department of Economics and Economic Policy of the KEN Pedagogical University in Krakow, analyzed China's stance in the Financial Observer.

In her analysis, she writes about the increasing scale of using economic coercion in relations with other countries, the arbitrary abuse of power, non-compliance with the rules of the multilateral trading system. In her opinion, the basis for such actions is the defense of Chinese national interests, including territorial integrity and state sovereignty, internal stability, economic and social development.

The use of economic coercion, which is designed to inflict economic damage on another country in order to exert political pressure within the context of a broader diplomatic dispute, undermines the functioning and trust in the multilateral trading system, violates the international order focused on respect for sovereignty and the rule of law, and ultimately undermines global security and stability, the author of the analysis writes.

Radomska also notes that the problem is associated with intense global competition for US to maintain its economic and political power, while China simultaneously strives to take a leading position on the international stage.

China is striving to restore its key place in the world and strengthen its strategic potential, as well as to regain its former glory and create a system of international norms that will better serve the ambitious geostrategic goals of the PRC. It also emphasizes that for a long time, the Western world did not acknowledge this. The actions of China have begun to be viewed with considerable mistrust and suspicion.

What solutions does China resort to? The most commonly used forms of economic compulsion are trade restrictions. Trade compulsion involves the arbitrary application of trade measures with the deliberate intent to economically harm a trading partner. Its goal is not to solve a justified trade problem or protect the domestic industry. Instead, the aim is to impose economic costs and thereby exert political pressure on the trading partner within the framework of a broader diplomatic dispute.

The author of the analysis cites studies that confirmed 13 instances of Chinese economic coercion towards other countries in the years 2010-2021, such as: Norway (2010), Japan (2010), Philippines (2012), Mongolia (2016), South Korea (2016), Australia (2017), Canada (2018), New Zealand (2019), Sweden (2019), Czech Republic (2019), United Kingdom (2020), Sweden (2021), Lithuania (2021).

There are also known reasons for resorting to compulsion. For Beijing, the reason may be the crossing by some countries of the red line, which draws questions of national sovereignty (Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and issues of human rights in related regions), national security (US military presence in East Asia), territorial disputes (competition for claims in the East and South China Sea), international image (investigation into the origins of COVID-19), treatment of Chinese companies abroad (restrictions against Huawei in the G5 telecommunications market).