November 28, 2025

Lawrence Freeman’s keynote presentation:

I thank the Kuliang Forum, Bank of China, and People’s Daily for the opportunity to address you on this important strategic issue. A positive political and economic relationship between China and the United States will help shape the future of our planet.

The world in the last ten years, has undergone significant transformations. We have irrefutably entered a multipolar world and there is no going back. China has massively advanced its economy, lifting over 700 million of its population out of poverty. The BRICS has expanded to ten member nations with ten additional trading partners. The Global South is emerging, creating a new political dynamic in the world. However, the current period that we are living in is fraught with perils. There is a potential of new and more lethal wars, and another financial crisis is on the horizon. How the nations of the world navigate through these troubled times will in large part be determined by the relationship between the two economic super-powers: China and the United States.

Trade Between China and the United States was approximately $600 billion in 2024, which represented almost 2% of world trade, estimated at $33 trillion. The United States is China’s biggest trading partner, and China is the fourth biggest trading partner of the United States, measured in US dollars. China hawks in the United States, who are calling for decoupling between these two economies are clinically insane. The United States could not survive such a separation from the Chinese economy. In this century, China’s manufacturing sector has surged to approximately 30% of world production, while that of the United States has shrunk.

The political institutions of the United States, the Congress, and the White House, both Democrat and Republican, are obsessed with the belief that China will invade Taiwan in 2027. The United States Defense/War Department is preparing for various scenarios in which the United States will militarily intervene to defend Taiwan from China.

We should be clear: there is no objective justification for such a level of hostility by the United States against China. This enmity by the United Sates is driven by the diseased ideology of the political and financial elites of the West; the so called, rules-based international order. Their view of the world is contaminated by the perverted belief that the world is fixed, and that survival depends on remaining on top as the number one hegemon, with all other nations forced to a lower level of existence. Thus, the foreign policy of the followers of this “zero-sum” mentality is to thwart the development of other nations they perceive as threatening their hegemony, through manipulation, containment, brinkmanship, and if necessary, war.

The good news for civilization is that the world is not fixed. The physical universe is continuously evolving, and as a result of the uniquely human power of creative reason, humankind is constantly developing.

Speaking in Russia in 2013, Chinese president, Xi Jinping, articulated a superior conception of the world: a community with a shared future for mankind. All human beings are universally alike because we all possess the power of creativity. The interest of every nation is the same: to promote the material well-being of its society, and to nurture the power of creativity in its citizens. Therefore, there is a natural harmony between nations. It is in the self-interest of each nation to design a foreign policy that benefits the prosperity of other nations. The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the devastating religious wars of Europe, stipulated that nations understand: the benefit of the other is a benefit to thyself.

The collaboration of China and the United States in driving economic growth worldwide will have consequential benefits to the future of civilization. With over 700 million people worldwide living in extreme poverty on our planet, the need for the expansion of physical wealth produced is glaring. To improve the living conditions for both developed and underdeveloped nations will require more than a drastic reform of the current financial system. It will necessitate a new financial architecture, anchored to the creation of a new paradigm committed to real physical economic growth, not monetary profits.

The African continent has approximately 500 million people suffering from extreme poverty. It is the largest number of any continent, and it is increasing yearly. By 2050, Africa’s population is projected to increase to 2.4 billion, one-fourth of the projected world population of 9.6 billion. Unless poverty is eliminated, peace and stability on the continent will not be secured. This means that the rest of the world will not be free from instability. To outflank the zero-sum mindset of the United States, I propose that China and the United States initiate a joint mission to assist African nations in eliminating poverty and ending hunger. Such a commitment by the two largest economies would bond them together through a common objective. It would be a gift for the future of humanity; a noble legacy for each nation. This endeavor, which is entirely feasible, would enhance a long term durable collaboration and friendship between China and the United States.

I hope my presentation will stimulate discussion on this topic.

Thank you for listening.

Read below my earlier posts on this topic:

China’s Amb: “We follow the path of peaceful development”

Rules Based Order in Crisis: Losing Global Domination

Can U.S. Compete With China? Washington Establishment Has Serious Qualms

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for 35 years. He is a teacher, writer, public speaker, consultant on Africa, and an analyst of global strategic relations. Mr. Freeman strongly believes that economic development is an essential human right. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com, also publishes on: lawrencefreeman.substack.com, “Freeman’s Africa and the World, and on X @lkfreemansafrica