China’s Spokesperson Identifies Physical Economy: “It’s about making people’s lives better”

August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 Lawrence Africa, China, electicity, Global South, high-speed rail, Infrastructure, physical economy, rice, US

*Examine the exponential growth of electricity in China in a mere forty years*.

*China, in 2000 had zero high-speed rail trains, in 2025 it has 50,000 kilometers of rail, more than the rest of the world combined.*

August 28, 2026

The true measurement of an economy is not money, not macro statistics, not stock market indexes: it is the improvement in the material standard of living of the population. Liu Chang, Spokesperson for the China Embassy, speaking on July 31, described the elementary metric of economic development: It’s about making people’s lives better.

As the Chinese understand very well, a key factor in improving the standard of living of its population, requires massive infrastructure investments. The Chinese government are unsurpassed, among all nations of the world, in expanding vital categories of infrastructure that are indispensable to increasing the productivity of their entire economy. As African nations have experienced, without infrastructure, especially electricity and rail, real economic growth will be thwarted, if not impossible. Examine the two graphs above. These images are startling. However, they should not be shocking. For the last two generations China has concentrated on industrializing its economy, becoming the leading nation in manufacturing, ship building and the refinement of critical minerals. This has resulted in lifting 700 million of its people from abject poverty and improving the standard of living for all members of its society. China is committed to assisting the Global South, which encompasses the majority of the world’s population, land mass, and minerals. As the U.S. led Western alliance of nations thrash about in their collapsing rules-based order, China and the Global South can create a new system, a new paradigm of political-economic relationships premised on a common share future of economic development for mankind.

The presentation below is reprinted from the August 21, 2026 issue of Executive Intelligence Review magazine,

From a Grain of Rice to a World of Greater Equality—China and the Global South: A Story of Shared Development

*Liu Chang, Spokesperson for China Embassy*

by Liu Chang, July 31, 2026

Ladies and Gentlemen, first of all, I want to say thank you to the Schiller Institute for inviting me. It’s my real pleasure to join you today. Today’s topic is “A Dialogue of Civilizations: Development or World War III,” so I will emphasize the part of development, and share some thoughts of how China sees global development. My title is “China and the Global South: A Story of Shared Development.”

When it comes to development, people tend to think of GDP, investment, or massive infrastructure projects. But for most families, development looks much simpler. It means having lights during the night; roads remaining open through the rainy season; a doctor available when someone falls ill; a young person learning skills that lead to a decent job. These may sound like ordinary things, but that’s exactly what development is about. It’s not about making the numbers look better; it’s about making people’s lives better. Development matters when a family can feel the difference, and when an entire community can share in its benefits.

Not long ago, I read a story about farmers in Madagascar planting hybrid rice developed in China. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, these varieties can produce between 9 and 11 tons of rice per hectare, compared with about 2.8 tons for traditional local varieties. Those figures are more than statistics. To a local farmer, they could mean something more tangible; fuller granaries, a little more income, and a better chance of keeping a child in school.

So, what can a single grain of rice tell us? It reminds us that development cooperation is only meaningful if it improves ordinary lives. And in today’s inter-connected world, it raises four larger questions: How do we make development more inclusive? How do we protect it with lasting peace? How do we enable different civilizations to learn from one another? And how do we build a fairer system of global governance? These are exactly the questions that China has been seeking to answer.

China’s Four Global initiatives

First, how can the fruits of development benefit more people? China proposed the Global Development Initiative in 2021. Under the initiative, more than $23 billion have been mobilized and over 1,800 cooperation projects launched. But numbers alone do not tell the whole story. The more important question is whether these efforts can change people’s lives for the better. In Madagascar, as I mentioned earlier, change means higher yields from the hybrid rice. In Papua New Guinea, change could be a stand of Juncao grass allowing small farmers to grow edible mushrooms without cutting down forests, while creating new sources of income. Or it could be a Luban workshop in Kazakhstan, where local students learn practical skills in areas such as renewable energy, automation, and rail transportation based on the needs of local industries.

What China seeks is not simply to deliver a project and move on. It is to work with local partners to develop skills, share appropriate technologies, and create opportunities that can take root, continue to grow, and benefit local communities over the long term.

Rice is flourishing in Madagascar, the island nation which now has Africa’s largest area cultivating high-yield, hybrid rice. In 2007, China launched the hybrid rice demonstration center project in Madagascar, one of 10 such ag-tech specialty centers across the continent.

Second, what protects the gains of development? For many developing countries, security means far more than the absence of war. It also means hospitals can continue to operate during floods, droughts, or public health crises. It means stable access to food and energy. It means having the resilience to emerge from challenges. A war can destroy a school overnight. A severe natural disaster or public health emergency can set back the development of an entire community for years.

This is why China proposed the Global Security Initiative in 2022. It calls for a vision of security that is common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable. It emphasizes resolving differences through dialogue and consultation, while also addressing global challenges such as food security, energy security, public health, and climate change. Peace is the foundation on which development grows. And development itself can help address the root causes of conflict and instability, creating stronger foundations for lasting peace.

Third, can different paths of development respect and enrich one another? China’s answer is yes. Every country has its own history, culture, and path of development. Cooperation should not begin with the assumption that one country must first become a copy of another. True civilizational exchange is not about one side changing the other, nor replacing the other. It is about learning from each other with equality and respect, drawing inspiration from different experiences, and allowing diverse civilizations to grow together through dialogue rather than compete through exclusion.

In 2023, China proposed the Global Civilization Initiative, which recognizes that the greatest value of mutual learning between civilizations is not to erase differences, but to make those differences a starting point for mutual understanding and mutual reinforcement.

Last but not the least, who should shape global rules, and whom should those rules serve? Today, the contribution of the Global South to global development continues to grow. Yet in some international institutions, its representation and voice remain limited.

In 2025, China proposed the Global Governance Initiative, which emphasizes sovereign equality, the rule of international law, multilateralism, a people-centered approach, and action-oriented cooperation. The goal is not to tear down the existing international system or start over from scratch. Rather, it is to make that system more representative, more effective, and better able to respond to the concerns of developing countries. Global rules should be shaped through the participation of more countries, not written by a few and simply accepted by the rest. The affairs of the world should be discussed and decided together. And the benefits of development should be shared by all.

These four Global Initiatives reflect China’s vision for the future of our world: development gives people hope; security protects that hope; civilizations help us understand one another; and governance provides fairer institutions for shared progress.

From Poverty to Development

China has always been a member of the Global South. We have experienced the long journey from poverty to development, and we understand that there is no single model for modernization, nor any shortcut that can simply be copied and pasted. China is willing to share its experience, but not turn that experience into a prescription for others. We are willing to provide support, but not make decisions on behalf of our partners. We are willing to build bridges, roads, and hospitals, but we also want to work with countries around the world to develop the talent that allows people to shape their own future.

China looks forward to continuing to work with countries around the world so that development is no longer the privilege of a few, but a right shared by all; so that modernization is not painted in a single color, but reflects a landscape of diverse paths and possibilities; and so that every country and every people can take part in shaping our shared future.

Thank you very much.

Read below my earlier post on this topic.

Will China’s Global Governance Initiative Replace The West’s Failed “Rules Based Order?

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

U.S. Needs Strategic Thinkers to Understand China & Africa, Not Mindless Babbling Politicians

August 20, 2026August 20, 2026 Lawrence Africa, Belt and Road Initiative, China, development, Infrastructure, poverty, US

View my discussion in the video above from July 30, with Grace Asagra on her podcast, Quantum Nurse.

August 20, 2026

Please view my video interview above, which is my first discussion since my three-week visit to several cities in China during June and July. I encourage all citizens, especially of the United States to visit China and see for yourself this interesting, shall I say fascinating society, with its rich culture and history, and its engaging people. This is the best way to protect your mind from being brainwashed by the anti-China propaganda spewed forth by U.S. media and our silly and ignorant politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties.

The reporting of China by the West, in particular the U.S., completely mischaracterizes this dynamic society with its mixture of former dynasties and ultra-modern cities that have emerged in China over recent decades. Most of what the U.S. establishment reports about China he is unfortunately contaminated with the zero-sum mentality of their rules-based international order. China has a different perspective for the world world, which is based on the idea of creating a common future for mankind.

Their development has been phenomenal over the last forty plus years since the opening up of China. China has become the leading nation in manufacturing, in high speed rail construction, in robotics, in nuclear fission energy production, in ship building, and in mining of critical and rare earth minerals. As well, a leading nation in space exploration, fusion research, and chip technology. In 2013, China reached out to the rest of the world with the Belt and Road initiative, which has eagerly been received by the Global South. In Africa, where the West was dominant in its control over the continent after the liberation movements of the 1960s, they did not invest in the future of Africa, they looted it of its natural resources. China has pursued a different policy. In this century, China has invested in Africa’s infrastructure, especially electricity and railroads. This cannot be denied. U.S. propaganda that China has used so called debt-trap diplomacy to seize African assets or its mineral resources is simply not true

It is crucial that political leaders in the West and thoughtful citizens in the United States and Europe, recognize that the western controlled system known as the rules-based order is declining, and the world is shifting towards development of the Global South. With this transformation taking place today, we should be wise enough to recognize that cooperating with China is in the self-interest of the United States and its citizens. We should define future missions of collaboration with China that will advance civilization, such as; the elimination of poverty in Africa, the colonization of the moon, and the full scale use of nuclear fusion energy. This is what American statesman and leaders should do.

The pillars of progress for all nations are universally identical: satisfying the material needs of the population and nurturing their minds through stimulating economic development, creativity, and agape in society.

All of this is discussed in my hour long podcast above, which I strongly recommend you view. I believe you will benefit.

Read below my earlier posts:

Will China’s Global Governance Initiative Replace The West’s Failed “Rules Based Order?

Rules Based Order in Crisis: Losing Global Domination

Rules Based Order Is Dead, But Trump Didn’t Kill It. Beware of Mark Carney’s Alternative

Don’t Believe U.S. Propaganda Maligning China: Global Times Interviews Freeman In Beijing

August 17, 2026August 17, 2026 Lawrence Africa, Belt and Road Initiative, China, Infrastructure, poverty, Railroads, US, zero-sum

*The view of Beijing’s Central Business District Photo: VCGEditor’s*

Trust what you see in China with your own eyes, not rumors: US political economic analyst

By Peng Xunwen, He Jianing and Xiong Jixin from People’s Daily

Trust what you see in China with your own eyes, not rumors: US political economic analyst

August 17, 2026

Editor’s Note: For years, the US has viewed China as a rival in Africa and sought to cast a shadow over China-Africa cooperation with misleading narratives such as the “China shock.” Against this backdrop, the overseas edition of the People’s Daily (PD) interviewed Lawrence Freeman (Freeman), an American international affairs expert, political economic analyst for Africa, who recently traveled across multiple Chinese cities with his wife. With 30 years of experience on the African continent, Freeman calls for abandoning Cold War thinking and zero-sum competition, stresses the importance of China-US cooperation in advancing global development, and shares his perspective on how the American public should view China.

PD: The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has provided substantial support to Africa’s infrastructure development and economic and social progress. As an expert on African issues, what tangible changes do you believe the BRI has brought to African nations?

Freeman: Africa has long been plagued by a huge infrastructure gap. China has offered tremendous assistance to a great many African countries through the BRI. For decades, I have been deeply involved in work related to the development of Africa. The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway was constructed by China, and the Port of Djibouti was built with Chinese aid. Without China’s participation, Africa’s development would likely not have advanced so rapidly. China has extended credit support to Africa and built a large number of hospitals, schools, roads, ports, airports, railways and power plants. While Africa’s demand remains huge, China’s contributions are highly commendable.

The BRI enlightens us that mutual benefit and win-win cooperation is the right path forward. More than 370 years ago, the Peace of Westphalia established the principles of equality and sovereignty. In the course of history that followed, sovereign equality has evolved into the most important norm governing state-to-state relations. The prosperity and development of all countries are in the fundamental interests of the US itself. As other countries grow their economies, they will create more economic and trade opportunities for the US. We should break free from outdated, rigid and backward mindsets, discard the logic of win-lose, confrontation and conquest versus subjugation, and embrace a higher vision of development, replacing mutual confrontation with common development. Photo: He Jianing/People's Daily

Lawrence Freeman Photo: He Jianing/People’s Daily

PD: China has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. It has also rolled out poverty reduction programs in Africa through cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other channels. What lessons can Africa draw from China’s poverty reduction model and practices?

Freeman: From what I have learned about China’s development journey, a key driver of its rapid growth is large-scale infrastructure investment. China’s high-speed railway network now exceeds 50,000 kilometers in operation, surpassing the combined total of all other countries in the world. China has built a vast number of new energy power stations, including thermal power, nuclear power and other types.

China has a clear, complete path to poverty alleviation and development: It boasts the world’s largest and fast-growing manufacturing sector; its shipbuilding industry leads the globe, and it is also at the forefront of space exploration. Large-scale infrastructure development, emphasis on scientific and technological R&D and the rapid expansion of manufacturing are core factors behind economic growth and poverty eradication. China’s poverty reduction practices have proven practical and effective. All the African countries I work with are eager to learn from China’s experience and fully master this development model. I believe Africa can fully draw on China’s successful experience.

PD: Today, humanity faces multiple global challenges, including climate change, regional conflicts, poverty and public health crises. In your view, how can international cooperation help tackle these problems?

Freeman: The Western world is currently in the grip of a severe crisis, lacking long-term development visions and blueprints. China has put forward the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, calling for attention to the common interests of all people, which is of great significance. Mankind needs to establish a new development paradigm centered on development, which is also the direction of my long-term research. The world is never a zero-sum game; the essence of human development is pioneering and progress-driven.

All countries take the well-being of their people as their fundamental goal. To achieve this, we must first meet people’s basic material needs – housing, employment, electricity, sound infrastructure – so that everyone can live a decent and meaningful life. Only when people have sufficient leisure time can creativity be cultivated. For instance, China produced great philosopher Confucius, and the West had Socrates and Plato. But, weighed down by the pressures of daily life, few people study these classics today, leading to biased perceptions and the conflicts that follow.

Most conflicts in today’s world are rooted in poverty. When people cannot live stable, dignified lives, strife and plunder emerge. If the US, China and all countries work together to build a new development paradigm and steadily raise living standards across the globe, most causes of war will disappear. If the whole world can eliminate absolute poverty as China has done, the lives of all humanity will be fundamentally transformed for the better.

PD: China-US relations are among the most important bilateral relations in the world. This year, the two sides jointly set a new orientation for China-US relations: building a “constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability.” How do you interpret this positioning?

Freeman: The Chinese government has stressed that the “constructive strategic stability” should be a positive stability with cooperation as the mainstay, a sound stability with moderate competition, a constant stability with manageable differences and an enduring stability with promises of peace. Previous US policies toward China, however, were imbued with the dangerous zero-sum game mindset, which I believe lacks careful consideration. The US should take the initiative to identify areas for China-US cooperation. As the world’s two largest economies, China and the US can carry out joint cooperation projects that benefit the people of both countries and all nations around the world.

*We met senior citizens singing and dancing in a Shanghai park in morning.*

PD: What areas of cooperation between China and the US do you think have the most promising prospects for tangible implementation?

Freeman: The first is research and development of controlled nuclear fusion energy. China is a global leader in nuclear fusion, having achieved stable plasma operation for over 1,000 seconds. The US shelved its nuclear fusion programs decades ago, but nuclear fusion represents the future of energy development, delivering far higher energy output than existing nuclear fission power plants of the same scale. It is still not too late for China and the US to collaborate in this field.

The second is space exploration. The US has spent an extremely long time preparing for its return to the Moon. China has already achieved a soft landing of a probe on the far side of the Moon. Human civilization advances through scientific exploration. Space exploration benefits all of humanity, and the two sides have every reason to cooperate in this area.

The third is joint efforts to eliminate poverty and famine in Africa. If China and the US work together to boost Africa’s development and raise local living standards, the continent will become a global economic and trade hub, benefiting the entire world.

PD: You and your wife have recently visited many cities across China. What are your impressions of the Chinese people and Chinese society?

Freeman: There is one moment that sticks in my mind: I once met a little boy, and I said “Nihao” to him. He immediately replied “Hello.” We chatted freely in English the whole time, and the passersby around us were all delighted. It was such a warm, charming scene – an elderly American chatting effortlessly with a young Chinese boy.

While I was attending conferences, my wife took the subway alone to visit aquariums and museums. Friends back home were all shocked and asked me: Are you sure it’s safe for her to go out by herself? My wife and I felt perfectly safe throughout our stay in China. I think more ordinary Americans should set aside their prejudices and come to China to experience it for themselves. Trust what you see with your own eyes, not rumors.

PD: How has public opinion in the US and China toward each other changed over the years?

Freeman: Today, as China’s comprehensive strength grows steadily, the Chinese people can see the fruits of development with their own eyes and feel progress across all areas firsthand. As a result, more young Chinese people no longer look up to foreign countries as they once did; instead, they view them on an equal footing.

Held back by weaknesses in basic education and a lack of global perspective, American society does not have an objective understanding of China. Many Americans fear China for no reason and always ask me strange questions: “Aren’t you afraid to go to China?” I am puzzled: “What’s there to be afraid of?” This is the misunderstanding and prejudice born out of ignorance about China. In recent years, with China relaxing its visa policies and lowering the threshold for long-term visas, it has become easier for many Americans to visit China, which is a great opportunity to enhance mutual understanding.

Read below my earlier posts:

Freeman Tells Xinhua: Xi-Trump Summit Should Focus on Economic Cooperation

Xinhua Publishes Freeman’s Critique of the Post World War II “Rules Based Order”

Xinhua Publishes Freeman’s Critique of the Post World War II “Rules Based Order”

July 22, 2026August 17, 2026 Lawrence Africa, Belt and Road Initiative, China, development, Infrastructure, manufacturing, rules-based order, US

July 22, 2026

Below is my article published by Xinhua news service on July 21, 2026

Column: Those who conjure up so-called “China Squeeze” ignore historical reality

Source: Xinhua-2026-07-21

A train stops at the Nagad railway station along the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway in Djibouti, Sept. 19, 2022. The Chinese-built 752.7-km-long Ethiopia-Djibouti standard gauge railway, also known as the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway, is the first fully electrified trans-boundary railway on the African continent. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

by Lawrence Freeman

A recent article published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) conveniently ignores the historical burden imposed on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) under the United States-led “rules-based order” following World War II.

The paper is riddled with historical distortions in a deliberate attempt to prove the authors’ presumption: China’s exports are responsible for crowding out space for the LMICs to develop their local manufacturing capacity. As a specialist in the political economy of sub-Saharan African nations and China-Africa relations, I can provide some light on this misleading narrative. While it is true that Africa-China trade reached a historically high level of 348 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, with African countries running a trade deficit of 102 billion dollars, the more important question is: how did this imbalance emerge?

Here the historical weakness of the paper under review is revealed. The opening sentence begins with a falsehood: “In the United States, President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs have drawn political force from the view that China’s surplus hollowed out American manufacturing.”

This is completely untrue. The U.S. willfully destroyed its own manufacturing sector beginning in the 1980s, when it adopted the policy of becoming a post-industrial society. The U.S. establishment decided at that time it would move away from being a manufacturing-based industrial society in favor of becoming the center of the financial world, with an expanding service sector, except for the production of armaments.

This was advertised in the Council on Foreign Relations magazine, Foreign Affairs, and implemented by then-Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. At that time, China had no strong manufacturing capability. It neither possessed the ability to challenge the United States nor contributed to the shrinkage of America’s once powerful manufacturing sector.

Let us keep in mind the reality of the world economy: in the 1960s, the United States functioned as the world hegemon, leading the “rules-based order,” with a GDP around 10 times that of China’s. This only started to change in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the reform and opening-up drive led by Deng Xiaoping, which kicked off in China over the next forty years the greatest economic miracle that our planet has seen.

Again, taking Africa as an example, the United States and the West were in total control of the so-called free markets. The United States and the West had total control over the nations of Africa both politically and economically, as they did over much of the developing sector. China did not emerge as a major player in African economies until the 2000s. During the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the United States and the West ruled the financial institutions, including the IMF and World Bank, and they did nothing to build up the manufacturing capability of Africa. This is the truth, and this is egregiously absent from the PIIE report.

During that time there was no leader, except President John F. Kennedy, who was concerned to develop manufacturing capabilities in less-developed countries, especially Africa. What was done by the West, by the U.S., by the “rules-based order” was to extract wealth from African nations. Looting their natural resources, not development. This cannot be blamed on China.

Workers arrange clothes at a textile factory in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, on July 30, 2025. Lesotho is a small southern African country and one of the world’s least developed countries. Its economy is heavily dependent on textile exports. It exports over 50 percent of its garment products to the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

Western policy never genuinely aimed to integrate Africa into the global manufacturing supply chain. Consequently, African economies today account for only about 3 percent of globally traded manufactured goods. This outcome is not a result of China crowding out lower-income countries’ industrial space. Rather, it is an uncomfortable reality that the PIIE and its ideologues are unwilling to confront, as acknowledging it would undermine their anti-China narrative, which is precisely why this factor is conspicuously absent from their report.

Africans suffer, actually die, from the lack of electricity, due to the willful decision not to invest in infrastructure by the West. This is what has prevented African nations from developing manufacturing capabilities. The lack of railroads is another element that is holding back the economic growth of African economies. Not China.

The failure to invest in the most critical component of an economy: infrastructure. This is the cause of the economic deficiency of African nations. Without infrastructure, you will not have a manufacturing sector. You will not have an industrialized economy. It is not the result of China squeezing Africa out of the market. The problems we have today in the LMICs, especially in Africa, are a result of willful decisions by the West not to develop these nations. This cannot be covered up by using mathematical formulas or refusing to report on what actually happened to the developing sector during the decades from 1960 through 2000, before China’s economy began to be a serious actor in the world economy.

“When the United States was the world’s economic hegemon after World War II, it created manufacturing and export space for others — first Japan, then the Asian Tigers, and eventually China itself,” claimed the authors in the conclusion part. However, there was never any intention by Western financial institutions to develop manufacturing capacities for low-and middle-income countries, and little to no investment in vital categories of infrastructure, which are necessary to build a robust manufacturing sector.

The most irreconcilable historical reality that the authors failed to address in the narrative accusing China of preventing the development of the LMICs is this: From the 1940s until the year 2000, when China began to emerge as a successful economic power, the Western political-financial oligarchy had dominant control over the world economy. They, not China, failed to promote economic development in the LMICs for six decades.

China, to its credit, has advanced infrastructure development across our planet through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It is unarguably the case that in Africa, without the BRI, the conditions of life for the majority of Africans would be much, much worse. To this day, no American president has joined or agreed to participate in the BRI, the largest global infrastructure program the world has ever undertaken.

Editor’s note: Lawrence Freeman is a U.S. political-economic analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over three decades. He is also a geopolitical analyst of U.S.-China relations.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Xinhua News Agency.■

Read below my earlier posts:

Will China’s Global Governance Initiative Replace The West’s Failed “Rules Based Order?”

Rules Based Order in Crisis: Losing Global Domination

Rules Based Order Is Dead, But Trump Didn’t Kill It. Beware of Mark Carney’s Alternative

Manufacturing-Industrialization Must Become Reality For Africa

June 12, 2026June 12, 2026 Lawrence Africa, China, development, Gyude Moore, industrialization, Infrastructure, manufacturing

June 12, 2026

Mr. Gyude Moore, in his essay below, has highlighted the most important challenge for African nations in determining their future. Will African nations create robust manufacturing industries? Manufacturing and infrastructure, especially railroads and power generation, are the two most essential elements to maintain a healthy physical economy. In order to feed the population and provide a quality standard of living, African nations must become industrialized. To achieve peace and prosperity, the level of the physical economy must be sufficiently developed to meet the material needs of its population. This requires eradicating poverty, eliminating hunger, and providing citizens with meaningful productive employment. Without a manufacturing sector and a density of infrastructure, nations will not survive, and the people will suffer undue hardships.

President Franklin Roosevelt defined freedom from want as the universal right to basic economic security: having enough food, shelter, jobs, and free from the threat of extreme poverty. No nation has attained prosperity nor has it become economically sovereign, without a robust manufacturing sector. Until recent decades, manufacturing thrived in the the United States, China has achieved this in the last two generations.

As Mr. Moore writes, now is the time for African nations to fulfill that goal.

How China Forced Europe to Reconsider Africa’s Industrialization by W. Gyude Moore, May 28, 2026

Excerpts below. Emphasis added.

Europe’s retreat from slavery was not driven by moral enlightenment alone. Religious and philosophical objections to slavery had existed for centuries. They became politically decisive only when changes in production, power, and elite incentives made abolition compatible with Britain’s national interest. Societies often tolerate moral critiques for long periods until material conditions shift the coalition structure around them. A similar inflection point may now be emerging in the economic relationship between Africa and Europe.

For decades African leaders – Kwame Nkrumah, Amilcar Cabral, Julius Nyerere – and academics like Samir Amin, made a simple argument to Europe and the broader industrialized world: a continent cannot sustainably develop if it participates in the global economy primarily as a supplier of raw materials and a consumer of finished goods.

That argument was often dismissed as ideological, or just nostalgia from the independence era. African calls for beneficiation, industrialization, and value addition were treated as economically unsophisticated or politically protectionist. The global division of labor was presented as natural and efficient. Africa would export ores, cocoa, timber, tea, oil, and agricultural commodities. Others would process, refine, manufacture, brand, finance, and capture the overwhelming share of value. That arrangement persisted for decades because it worked for those already occupying the commanding heights of the global economy.

When manufacturing migrated from Europe and North America to Asia, many African policymakers hoped this would create space for industrial activity on the continent. Instead, the old hierarchy largely relocated. Africa still exported raw materials. The processing, branding, financing, and technological learning moved elsewhere. Today, iron ore and bauxite still leave as direct shipping ore and concentrates. Cocoa leaves as raw beans. Timber leaves as logs or rough-cut lumber.

The argument African leaders made repeatedly was not complicated. A continent that exports low-value commodities while importing expensive manufactured products will eventually encounter structural limits to prosperity. It will remain vulnerable to commodity cycles, deteriorating terms of trade, foreign exchange instability, and persistent external dependence. More fundamentally, it will never accumulate the industrial capabilities that generate durable national wealth.

That argument rarely found receptive audiences in Europe because Europe occupied the advantageous end of the arrangement. Until now.

Europe is increasingly confronting a version of the same vulnerability African states have warned about for generations. China’s extraordinary industrial rise has altered the geometry of the global economy. Europe no longer faces merely a low-cost manufacturing competitor. It increasingly faces the prospect of strategic industrial dependence.

Chinese firms dominate or threaten dominance across sectors central to the next industrial era: batteries, solar, electric vehicles, refining, rare earth processing, steel, consumer manufacturing, and increasingly advanced industrial machinery. Europe now worries openly about deindustrialization, supply chain vulnerability, and excessive dependence on external manufacturing ecosystems.

That means Liberia should not remain an exporter of direct shipping ore if pelletization can be done near Buchanan. Guinea should not remain primarily a bauxite exporter if alumina refining can be financed. Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo should move beyond copper and cobalt concentrates into semi-fabricated products and battery precursor materials. Cocoa producers should export more cocoa liquor, butter, cake, and powder rather than raw beans. Kenyn tea, Ethiopian and Ugandan coffee tea should be exported as branded and semi-processed products rather than bulk commodity. Timber should leave as furniture, panels, flooring, and engineered wood products, not merely logs or rough cuts. African industrial policy should focus less on immediately replicating East Asian electronics manufacturing and more on systematically climbing value chains already rooted in African comparative advantages.

This does not require autarky. It does not require hostility toward Europe or China. And it certainly does not require pretending Africa can industrialize in isolation. The goal is not sudden industrial transformation, but a steady rise in the complexity and value of what Africa already exports. Every successful industrial region in history protected, financed, subsidized, and nurtured its movement up the value chain. Europe did. The United States did. East Asia did. China certainly did.

Africa now has leverage it has not possessed in decades. Europe needs diversified industrial partnerships. The whole world needs African minerals. Europe needs alternative processing ecosystems.

The test of Europe’s seriousness beyond the rhetoric of Macron in East Africa or Meloni and her Mattei Plan, is whether Europe is willing to support the difficult conditions required for African industrialization alongside African governments. Lower-cost capital, energy infrastructure, technology transfer, market access, logistics systems, and tolerance for African industrial policy will matter far more than speeches about sovereignty.

Read Moore’s entire article: how-China-forced-Europe-to-reconsider

Read below, my earlier posts on this topic:

Ending The Legacy of Colonialism: Eliminate Poverty With The Industrialization of Africa

Energy Poverty Is Killing Africans & Preventing Industrialization

We Can Eliminate Poverty & Hunger in Africa in One Generation With A “Credit Bank”

With Manufacturing, Modern Farming & Energy From GERD, Ethiopia Can Be A Leading Economy in Africa: Interview

Freeman Tells Xinhua: Xi-Trump Summit Should Focus on Economic Cooperation

May 29, 2026May 29, 2026 Lawrence China, decoupling, Donald Trump, manufacturing, US, win-win, Xi Jinping, xinhua, zero-sum

*An aerial drone photo shows U.S. carmaker Tesla’s Megafactory in Shanghai, east China, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)*

Below is from an interview with Xinhua regarding Xi-Trump May 14-15 summit in Beijing.

Source: Xinhua, Editor: huaxia, 2026-05-28

Interview: China, U.S. have shared interests for cooperation, says U.S. economist

U.S. economist says stronger trade, infrastructure and manufacturing ties would benefit both countries and support global stability. Xinhua reports on interview with Freeman

by Xinhua writer Liu Yanan

NEW YORK, May 28 (Xinhua) — China and the United States can have economic cooperation and collaboration on multiple fronts, and there is no objective reason for antagonisms to exist between the two countries, a U.S. economist has said.

As the world’s two largest economies, both nations can benefit from increased trade and the exchange of ideas, said Lawrence Freeman, a U.S.-based physical economist, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

“If the United States partners with China, which there is no reason not to, the rest of the world will react positively,” Freeman told Xinhua.

He noted that China’s Belt and Road Initiative has been a vital source to African and other nations in providing vital infrastructure.

The world needs physical, not monetary, economic growth to end poverty and hunger, which are the primary causes of instability, the economist said.

Stability and peace can be achieved by improving the living conditions of all nations and all people, he added.

Freeman also spoke highly of China’s “win-win” approach to foreign policy and criticized the harmful “zero-sum game” approach.

“Each nation benefits from the growth and development of other nations. The more nations that are industrialized, the more their economies will require capital goods produced in other nations,” he said.

China’s prowess in manufacturing could also serve cooperation between the two nations, Freeman said.

“China has become a model of how to achieve manufacturing and industrial growth, which should be emulated by the United States instead of being maligned,” he added.■

Excerpts from Freeman’s response:

China’s “win-win” approach to foreign policy is far superior to the diseased “zero-sum game” approach. The world is not fixed; it is not governed by survival of the strongest. Our planet, our universe, is constantly growing and expanding, propelled by human creativity. Each nation benefits from the growth and development of other nations. The more nations that are industrialized the more their economies will require capital goods produced in other nations. Stability and peace can be achieved by improving the living conditions of all nations and all people. nations should understand and adopt what was stipulated at the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia: the benefit to the other is a benefit to thyself.

China is the leading manufacturing nation in the world. Only the combined manufacturing output of the U.S. and Europe is more than China. This speaks volumes about China’s approach to building up their economy over the last forty-five years. Massive investments by China, in categories of hard infrastructure; energy and rail transportation in particular, have been indispensable to its growth.

The U.S. has lost almost five million manufacturing jobs in this century, over 100,000 since President Trump took office in January 2025. Foolish leaders of the U.S. did this to America, not China. The U.S. destroyed its own economy by shrinking its manufacturing sector and failing to invest in infrastructure. A robust manufacturing sector is essential for the prosperity of a nation. China has become a model of how to achieve manufacturing and industrial growth, which should be emulated by the U.S. instead of being maligned. It is also a model for the rest of the world in how to achieve manufacturing superiority in approximately two generations.

People who talk about “de-coupling” the U.S. from China are dangerous fools, who understand nothing about physical economics. Despite the bravado of some, the U.S. would never survive this severing, but China would. China dominates supply chains of refined critical and rare earth minerals. China understood the need to develop these resources decades before the U.S. It cannot be reversed by the U.S. simply ordering China or other nations to acquiesce, or by U.S. bullying other nations by threatening them with abusive tariffs.

China has succeeded because it understood that to develop its economy and provide for its people, it needed: a strong manufacturing sector; extensive infrastructure; a commitment to scientific research, particularly space exploration; and discovering new valuable natural resources. This “full-set economy” approach is not unique and can be replicated by other nations. The U.S. once understood this and can again.

Below, are earlier posts on this topic.

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

U.S. Establishment Admits Truth Of China’s Economic Superiority, But They Don’t Understand It

Xi-Trump Summit Offers Needed Stability In A Perilous World

May 19, 2026May 19, 2026 Lawrence China, Donald Trump, tariffs, trade, US, US-China summit, Xi Jinping

On May 15, China’s People’s Daily published edited excerpts from an interview with Lawrence Freeman, prior to the May 14-15 summit, between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. Read: People’s Daily Interview with Freeman

Below is the English translation.

Strengthening dialogue and cooperation between the US and China will better enable them to jointly address global challenges (International Forum) Cooperation between the United States and China will inject strong momentum into global stability, development, and prosperity, making the world a better place.

On May 14, Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with US President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, who was on a state visit to China. The meeting between the two heads of state is crucial for both countries and the world. As the world’s two largest economies, the decisions made by the US and China, and their future policy directions, will have a significant impact on the world. This meeting set the tone and direction for the development of US-China relations and is a key opportunity to promote the sound development of US-China relations, making it of great significance. Maintaining dialogue and communication between the United States and China helps enhance mutual trust, manage differences, expand consensus, and promote cooperation.

As important trading partners, the US and China each possess strong complementary advantages in areas such as natural resources, markets, capital, and technology, offering vast opportunities for cooperation. Those advocating for “decoupling and supply chain disruptions” clearly lack rational consideration. Against the backdrop of rising uncertainty in the current international environment, maintaining stable, healthy, and sustainable development of US-China economic and trade relations is conducive to maintaining the stability of global industrial and supply chains, boosting market confidence, and is in the common interest of both peoples. It will also inject more stability and certainty into the world economy.

There are no winners in tariff wars and trade wars. The US should abandon zero-sum thinking, fully recognize the enormous potential of US-China cooperation, establish a win-win cooperation concept, and contribute to improving people’s livelihoods and promoting common development worldwide. In fact, the American people hold a friendly yearning for China and eagerly anticipate visiting and exchanging ideas with it. Two years ago, I visited Beijing and stayed for nine days, personally experiencing the sincerity, enthusiasm, and friendliness of the Chinese people, and also feeling their sincere expectation for friendly exchanges between the American and Chinese people. Recently, a friend of mine traveled to China and had a very pleasant experience, deeply appreciating the warm hospitality of the Chinese people. Because of this wonderful experience in China, my family and I plan to travel there again this summer.

This meeting between the US and Chinese heads of state will inject vitality into promoting friendly exchanges between the two peoples, enhance the American people’s understanding of China, and encourage them to truly get closer to this fascinating country and witness firsthand the vibrant picture of ancient civilization and modern development complementing each other. Looking at the international situation and the development of bilateral relations, there is no reason for the US and China to move towards confrontation. Cooperation between the two countries benefits both, while confrontation harms both. The two countries can absolutely achieve mutual success and common prosperity. Working together, the US and China will inject strong momentum into global stability, development, and prosperity, making the world a better place. We look forward to both countries jointly maintaining a stable, healthy, and sustainable bilateral relationship, jointly addressing global challenges, jointly committing to reducing hunger and poverty, helping underdeveloped countries achieve industrialization, promoting sustainable global economic growth, and safeguarding world peace and prosperity.

On Sunday, May 17, People’s Daily published additional remarks from Lawrence Freeman. Under the title:

Promoting the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-US relations

　　”The meeting between the US and Chinese leaders is of great significance to both countries and the world. The mutual respect and friendly attitude shown by the two leaders have laid a solid foundation for strengthening cooperation in areas such as trade, science and technology, culture, and maintaining international and regional stability. We look forward to this meeting opening a new chapter in US-China relations and promoting the long-term stable development of bilateral relations,” said Lawrence Freeman, an international affairs expert in the United States.

Read below, my earlier posts on this topic.

China & BRICS Choose Progress Over West’s Deindustrialization

Franklin Roosevelt Intended to Industrialize the ‘Global South’: The Case of Ethiopia

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 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

Chinese Pres Xi is Correct: Rules-Based Order Is In Decay, But We Once Looked to the Stars

May 11, 2026May 11, 2026 Lawrence China, creativity, Donald Trump, manufacturing, NASA, rules-based order, space exploration, US public debt, Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is on an official visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 14, 2026. (China Daily)

May 11, 2026

President Xi Jinping is widely reported to have told Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez that the international order is crumbling into disarray, during their meeting last month in Beijing. Both leaders have condemned President Trump’s unprovoked war against the nation of Iran and rejected the desperate pleas by President Trump for support of his reckless military actions. Their discussion on April 14, at the Great Hall of the People, acknowledged the conditions of the world are fraught with danger, and pledged increased cooperation between the two nations. Keep in mind that President Trump was to meet President Xi for a summit on March 31, before he postponed it due to his self-imposed quagmire in Iran. That summit has been rescheduled for May 14-15, which appears will occur.

President Xi’s description of the crumbling and disarray of the Western orchestrated rules-based international order goes beyond previous statements by the Chinese President, regarding the failure of Western policies. The Chinese translation of this phrase reveals that President Xi’s remarks were more perceptive and discerning than one might think. The literal translation is an idiom: the rites have crumbled and the music is ruined, which conveys moral decay.

This astute observation is absolutely correct. The decadence of the West, with its moral, cultural, and economic rot is there for all to witness, if they desire. One has to look no further than the contorted responses by western leaders for their involvement with the morally depraved Jeffrey Epstein. Or what passes for political (un)thinking in the United States. It is absolutely clear to any astute and honest thinker that survival of humanity requires an escape from the rules-based morally decayed order to a more advanced set of principles (not rules) guiding relations among nations.

China will undoubtedly be a leading nation in creating a new paradigm. U.S. officials and poorly informed Americans have little to no understanding of China’s history, culture, or the thinking propelling their unparalleled economic growth over the last forty-five years. The U.S. government and its citizens have been conditioned to think of “politics” in terms of what provides immediate gratification in the seconds, hours, or days ahead. By contrast, the Chinese think of what policies today, will result in benefits to society, decades, and centuries into the future. For example, President Trump is obsessed in securing supply chains for critical and rare earth minerals, with China controlling the refinement of 90% of these resources. Should China be accused of nefariously controlling these precious resources needed for computer chips, AI, and military munitions, because they understood their importance a generation before the West? Should we discriminate against China because they are smarter than us?

*Society’s culture should emphasize nurturing a child’s creative potential to discover the laws of the universe. (Courtesy of communityplaythings.com)*

The clearest evidence for the indictment of the crumbling and disarray of the Western orchestrated rules-based order is their lack of vision for the future of humanity. Their gross failure to recognize that human creativity, the uniquely human creative imagination, is the single most powerful resource in our universe. Not money, not power, not military might, not the glitz and glitter of opulent wealth: but the human mind housed inside the human body. A nation should not be governed on a “business model.” It should be led by a statesman, who is guided by a vision for the advancement of humankind.

Thus, the physical development of human beings and the nurturing of their creative powers should become the principle of a new paradigm replacing the morally and culturally doomed rules-based order.

The U.S. Economy Is Bankrupt

The U.S. federal debt has surpassed 100% of GDP, marking a significant fiscal milestone. As of March 31, the debt reached $31.265 trillion, slightly exceeding the GDP of $31.216 trillion. It is now official, the U.S. owes more in federal debt than our GDP, which itself is terribly flawed, because it does not accurately measure the real physical wealth of an economy. We should also acknowledge that total U.S. federal and private debt exceeds $100 trillion, once we include consumer credit debt, mortgage debt, school debt, state debt, and corporate debt. And all of this debt exists within a financial system loaded with two quadrillion dollars of speculative derivatives.

The U.S. economy exists on increasing amounts of debt that will never, ever be repaid. Without this almost tenfold increase of debt during the last quarter of a century, the U.S. economy would not exist in its present state. It would not be able to pursue its goal of dictating policy to the rest of the world as the super hegemon. The U.S. economy exists on a mountains of debt at the expense of an increasing number of Americans struggling to survive.

While all categories of U.S. debt have been growing exponentially, the goods producing sector, i.e., productive component of the U.S. economy, has been shrinking since the end of World War II. Simultaneously, employment has increased in the service sector, which employs five times as many workers. This trajectory, which has existed for generations is destroying the U.S. economy and is one of the primary causes of economic suffering by the vast majority of Americans. Service sector jobs do not produce wealth, they consume wealth

Manufacturing jobs are the most essential category of employment for every economy. The manufacturing sector, which produces the physical wealth of the economy, is the pillar that sustains real economic growth and provides for the material standard of living of citizens. Not only has the U.S. employment in the manufacturing sector collapsed precipitously in this century, from 17.32 million in 2,000 to 12.69 million today, but in the last 16 months, the U.S. has lost upwards of an additional 100,000 manufacturing jobs.

For 100 years, the US led the world in manufacturing. Then, in 2010, China surpassed the U.S. And the lead has kept increasing.

The most resounding indictment confirming the crumbling and disarray of the rules-based order is the failure of the U.S. to continue the cultural and economically uplifting determination to explore space, led by President John Kennedy. While I am happy to see the success of the Artemis 2 mission in April 2026, the last moon landing mission was Apollo 17 in 1972. That was over a half-century ago, and astronauts may not land again on the moon for several more years. During this same period, U.S. culture has suffered greatly, absent a true leader over the last fifty-four years, who would lift the minds of the population upwards towards the stars.

The proposed White House budget for NASA in 2026 represents a 24% cut. This would be the lowest amount of money for NASA since 1961, when President launched his “Man on the Moon” program.

Humankind was created to colonize space, and in the process master the laws of the universe. A robust space program emphasizes the importance of nurturing human creativity, by focusing the minds of our citizens on the discovery of new physical principles, which govern the universe. Our young adults and children have been denied the excitement of watching human beings land on an object in space, 250,000 miles from earth.

The collapse of our space program from over 4% of the U.S. budget to approximately .5%, is criminal, and beyond economic stupidity. It demonstrates the utter lack of any understanding of physical economics. Investments in space explorations upgrade scientific research, and lead to new technologies and materials that propel an economy forward. It is estimated that there was a fourteen cent returned to the economy for every one cent spent on Kennedy’s space program, producing a giant leap in productivity.

President John F Kennedy visits Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Nov. 16, 1963.
(Courtesy of stateline.org)

The source of wealth is the creative human mind. Over thousands of years, humans have contributed to the development of our planet through our creative-noetic intervention into the universe. All so-called natural resources are made useful by human discoveries and deployed to benefit the propagation of the human race. There is no independent source of wealth. New technologies, discoveries, the by-products of space exploration, are the drivers of a successful economy.

Continuous scientific discovery is responsible for producing robust economic growth, unlike stock trading or monetary gains from speculative financial bubbles. By its practice over recent decades, the U.S. and the rules-based order, have condemned themselves to crumbling and disarray, as President Xi has stated.

Read below my earlier posts related to this topic:

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

Why Is US-Africa Policy So Bad? Decline of American Culture!

Presidents Roosevelt and Xi Would Have Agreed on Developing the Global South

April 9, 2026April 10, 2026 Lawrence Belt and Road, Bretton Woods, China, Franklin Roosevelt, IBRD, Sun Yat-Sen, World Bank, Zhou Enlai

April 9, 2026

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping were scheduled to have a summit in China, from March 31-April 2. President Trump requested a five to six week postponement due to his regime change quagmire in Iran. Their summit is now scheduled for May 13-15. However, this date depends on President Trump’s ability to extricate himself from his unilateral war and threats to extinguish Iranian civilization. Though there are many important subjects for these two leaders, representing the two largest economies in the world to discuss, the most critical issues literally borders on war or peace for the future of civilization. The world finds itself in its most dangerous crisis since World War II. However, with the global authority of the ruling Western political-financial elites weakening, new opportunities exist to create a superior paradigm where military conflict is replaced with vigorous commitments for economic development.

The challenge that presents itself, is that the two presidents espouse totally different world views, with two different thought processes. President Trump’s mental state is still infested by the mindset of the rules-based order, that is: the most powerful hegemon should rule over all other nations. Recently, President Trump has adopted regime-change as his new foreign posture, previously rejecting this dangerous policy of the neo-conservative war party. Although President Trump claims to have a friendly and respectful relationship with President Xi, all branches of the United States government officially regard China as its primary enemy. This erroneous position is supported by the both the Republican and Democrat parties and the entire U.S. Congress.

Contrary to thousands of pages of Western propaganda maligning China, one can discern from President Xi’s global initiatives a superior approach to foreign policy than that of his American counterpart. Over the course of his leadership, President Xi has campaigned for the adoption of “win-win” cooperation in opposition to the diseased“zero-sum” ideology of the U.S. Instead of searching for countries to overthrow or control in a “war of each against all as the natural state of civilization,” President Xi has presented a more elevated conception for the world, stressing the need to work for a more just and equitable global governance system and advance toward a community with a shared future for humanity.

Franklin Roosevelt Had A Vision

The U.S. today has no vision for civilization, except to dominate the world through sustaining superior military strength. However, that has not always been worldview of the United States. The foreign policy of President Franklin Roosevelt, the longest serving U.S. president, was guided by his intention to create a better world following the end of World War II. His Grand Design for the post war period featured an end to colonialism, in particular British Imperialism, support for sovereignty of all nations, and industrialization of the less developed nations. He knew that only through promoting economic development, expanded world trade, and the elimination of poverty could long term global peace be accomplished.

The creation of the Bretton Woods system, which President Roosevelt began preparing for prior to the entry of the U.S. into World War II, was integral to the intention of his Grand Design: to generate global economic growth. To this end he established the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), today known as the World Bank. As a student of Alexander Hamilton’s American System of economics, President Roosevelt understood that the need for a new credit issuing facility to supply development credits was essential to raise the standard of living of the world’s population. That was the purpose of the IBRD. U.S. Treasury representative, Harry Dexter White, a chief architects of Bretton Woods, wrote in a January 1942 draft, that a central purpose of “The Bank” was the provision of long term capital for desirable productive projects that served directly or indirectly to permanently raise the standard of living of the borrowing country.

One could accurately report that President Roosevelt’s Brenton Woods was in fact an extension of his Good Neighbor policy for the countries of Latin America. President Roosevelt advocated for an Inter-American Development Bank (IAB) for currency stabilization and long term loans to assist specific Latin American state sponsored development projects.

President Roosevelt’s intent for Bretton Woods to function as a credit bank, was criticized for its commitment for long-term international lending. In defense of these development credits, U.S. Treasury Secretary, Henry Mogenthau knew; If we help you to become prosperous, you will be able to buy more goods from us! Is this not the best means to advance the self-interest of each nation? Is this not “win-win” economic cooperation. Is this not exactly what China is practicing today through its Belt and Road Initiative?

*Dr Sun Yat-Sen’s rail plan for China in 1919 specifically had in mind to integrate*
*Xinjiang, Mongolia, Tibet and Yunnan with rest of China.( courtesy of X.com)*

Author Eric Helleiner (1) considers Sun Yat-sen, one of the early pioneers of state-led development. Sun’s book, the International Development of China, outlines his plan industrialize China, to increase the standard of living of the Chinese people through the provision of foreign capital, technology, and expertise. Professor Cho-Ming Lee, a member of China’s delegation to Bretton Woods, the largest delegation next to that the U.S., put it this way: only by industrializing the country will the living standards of the people be appreciatively raised and the economic strength of the nation rapidly developed.

Representatives of China maintained a collaborative dialogue with U.S. Treasury officials, White and Morgenthau, and had input in the final articles of the Bretton Woods conference. In a communique to the head of the Chinese delegation, Hsiang-His Kung, in September 1943, Morgenthau wrote that U.S. technical experts shave indicated considerable interest in the views…expressed in these proposals, particularly with regard to the desirability of giving special consideration to the needs of China and countries in a similar position.

On American expert on Asian affairs, wrote just after the conference:

The promotion of foreign investment and international trade, development of productive resources and the raising of standard of living, as enunciated in Article I of the Articles of Agreement of the International Bank, admirably fit in with the goal of the third of [China’s] Three People’s Principles, the Principle of the People’s Livelihood. It will be a particular source of pride to foreign admirers of doctor Dr. Sun Yat-sen, as well as to all Chinese, that a concrete scheme born out of the world’s exigencies of the ‘beginning of the end’ of World War II should follow the lines laid down by the Father of the Chinese Republic…and the respective needs of China and of the industrial and of the industrial countries of the West.

*President Richard Nixon dining with Premiere Zhou Enlai in Shanghai, 1972. (Courtesy X.com)*

Helleiner reports that U.S. military advisors traveled to the headquarters of the Communist Party of China in Yenan, during the month of July 1944, the final month of the Bretton Woods Conference. The first official contact between the U.S. and the Communist Party of China occurred after the conference. In November 1944, when a U.S. Treasury official surreptitiously met with top Chinese Communist official, Chou En-lai. Chou noted that with regard to China’s post war position, her greatest economic need would be for foreign capital. Exactly what President Roosevelt intended to provide with his new Bretton Woods. The untimely death of President Roosevelt on April 12, 1945, was a tragedy for the world because it prevented those intentions from being realized.

It should be obvious to any intelligent and unbiased observer that the U.S. and China have much in common. America became a mighty industrialized economy by applying Hamilton’s economic principles, which it has tragically abandoned over the last half century. Dring that same time period, China has achieved the fastest rate of economic growth of any nation in history, by applying the principles of state-led industrialization. Would not collaboration between these economic powers serve the self-interest of each, and that of all nations in the world?

Conclusions

There is no historical foundation for antagonism between China and the U.S.
Strengthening institutions for the purpose of lending long term productive credits is paramount to achieving industrialization and economic growth, which ensures peace.
There is an inherently shared sovereign self-interest of every nation to raise the standard of living of all nations in an expanding developing world.
Statesman, and President, Franklin Roosevelt understood in creating the IRDB-The Bank-as a primary feature of the Bretton Woods system, that it was in the self-interest of the America, not to be a super-power hegemon, but instead a facilitator for economic growth for the less developed nations.
There is a common purpose for China and the U.S., as economic powers, to lead in engendering prosperity throughout the globe, particularly promoting economic growth in the Global South.
President Roosevelt demonstrated that under qualified leadership, U.S. collaboration with China is more than feasible.

Forgotten Foundations of Brenton Woods: International Development and the Making of the Postwar Order

Read below my earlier post on this topic.

Franklin Roosevelt Intended to Industrialize the ‘Global South’: The Case of Ethiopia

Will China’s Global Governance Initiative Replace The West’s Failed “Rules Based Order?”

West In Worse Crisis Since WW II: An Opportunity For Change?

April 4, 2026April 4, 2026 Lawrence Africa, Belt and Road Initiative, China, Donald Trump, Ethiopia, Franklin Roosevelt, Iran, MAGA, neocons, US

Watch my hour long discussion analyzing recent developments in the war against Iran, MAGA, and China.

April 4, 2026

As we are now entering the sixth week of President Trump’s unilateral, preemptive, regime change war, the ruling powers of the West are arguably facing their most severe crisis since World War II. While this brings with it inherent dangers, it also provides the world with an opportunity to free itself from the rules based order, which has dominated the world for more than four generations.

President Trump has now adopted the neoconservative policy of using America’s military might to unjustifiably enforce its rules of behavior on the rest of the world. For over a decade, President Trump had campaigned vigorously against this neocon policy of military intervention against other nations. This was one of the key features of his so-called MAGA movement. As a result of his reversal, we are seeing splits inside the MAGA movement, and now even in the Republican Party, which has otherwise followed his every command.

There is no question that curtailing China’s growing influence in the world, is a key factor in President Trump’s conduct in the Western Hemisphere, in Africa and in the Middle East. In this regard, President Trump is following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Presidents Obama, and Biden, whom he despises, in rejecting China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The United States, the strongest military and economic power, is suffering greatly. When President Trump spoke to the American people on Tuesday night, March 31st, he grotesquely threatened “to bomb Iran back to the stone ages.” This is utterly un-American!

The United States, going back to the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, has had a policy of working with other nations, including China, and those in the developing sector, to improve the living conditions of all nations. President Roosevelt’s intention in creating the International Reconstruction and Development Bank in July 1944, was to provide long-term, low-cost credit to help poorer nations industrialize.

Therefore, with this history as part of the United States, we must work to bring about a new leadership in America, whose policies will be coherent with those of the Global South, the majority of the world’s population. China is not our enemy. China is our potential ally in securing a shared common future for mankind, which will be based on peace, security, and prosperity. This paradigm for development has to become the vision of the United States, replacing the diseased “zero-sum” mentality that always leads to war.

Read below, my earlier posts on this topic.