Investment deal can smooth trade ties

Amid the many analyses of and comments on the China-US trade conflict, we have also heard endless strategic debates on whether the United States has begun to engage in "all-round" containment of China. A cool-headed historical and comparative analysis of the issue will help us find the essence of the matter.

Ten years ago, when China was developing at a rapid pace, the main drivers of growth were sectors such as (export-oriented) manufacturing and real estate. As the "factory of the world", China has paid a tremendous environmental and social price for the fast economic development. After proposing the idea of a "harmonious society" in 2004, the Chinese leadership advocated transforming the economic growth model from quantitative to qualitative development to enable China to avoid the "middle-income trap."

The thorny problem of middle-income trap