Reconciling growth and national security

At a conference last month to commemorate the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up, President Xi Jinping underscored the tension between the continuation of that process and the imperative of protecting national security. Xi recognized that "China cannot develop itself in isolation from the world, and the world needs China for global prosperity." Yet he also emphasized that "no one is in a position to dictate to the Chinese people" what should or should not be done.

There is no doubt the world-especially the United States - has lately been trying hard to pressure China to make changes. The White House triggering the trade conflict and justifying it in national security terms is the most potent example. Worse, on Dec 1, the same day that Xi and US President Donald Trump struck a 90-day trade truce, Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei, was detained in Canada at the behest of the US.

While the US Justice Department has not clarified the reason for asking the Canadian authorities to detain Meng, it appears to relate to US suspicions that Huawei has violated US sanctions against Iran. But it also likely reflects the technological dimension of the escalating economic and geopolitical competition between the US and China.