Escaping Dependency and Trade War:China and the US

Chen Ziye1, and Li Bin*2

1 School of Marxism, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China

2 China Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

Abstract: Marxist political economy provides a perspective for grasping the rootcause of the China-US trade war. The international relations of production, which stemfrom the international division of labor, shape the distribution of international economicinterests and the political status of countries. Traditionally, developing countries havebeen subjected to the “periphery” in the international division of labor. In the new globalvalue chain, developing countries have remained in a subordinate position characterizedby “technological-market” dependence. To achieve the goal of building a strong modernnation, China must escape the “technological-market” dependence. Yet China’s effortsand achievements in escaping dependent development are deemed as a threat to US vestedinterests in the international markets. To preserve the economic foundation of its hegemony,the US has resorted to a trade war to contain China’s development.

Keywords: Dependency theory, dependent development, global value chains,

JEL Classification Code: F13, F50, F51

DOI: 10.19602/j.chinaeconomist.2023.01.03