According to the International Energy Agency, China’s investment in manufacturing has increased by about 600 percent since 2005, and its share of value added in global manufacturing has almost tripled. As a result, China now generates one-third of global value added in manufacturing and has become the top trade partner of over 120 countries; trade to and from China makes up 45 percent of all dry bulk shipping and 30 percent of all container shipping.

China’s role is especially visible—but not limited to—products like solar panels, electric vehicles, and batteries—in addition to essential manufacturing inputs like steel and aluminum. Over 40 percent of all jobs in the world’s nuclear industry are now in China. This poses great and growing challenges for the United States and its allies, especially its economically advanced allies in Europe and Asia. Has China truly peaked, or does it still possess the resources and political structure to sustain its rise? Can the United States under a second Trump administration be counted on as a reliable ally for Japan? And what collective strategies might rival Beijing’s global economic reach?

On January 6, the Center for the National Interest hosted a virtual discussion on “Countering China’s Economic Might” with Mr. Tatsuya Terazawa, Chairman and CEO of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ). Terazawa is the author of a recent article in The National Interest, “Five Ways to Counter China’s Economic Might.” Prior to his appointment as Chairman and CEO at IEEJ in 2021, he had a long and distinguished career in Japan’s government, including as Vice Minister for International Affairs in Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry and as Executive Secretary to former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, in the wake of the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated portions of eastern Japan. He holds a law degree from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from Harvard University.

Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of The National Interest, moderated the discussion.

Image: Prasit Rodphan / Shutterstock.com.