On November 4, Professor Dong Zhiyong (Vice President of Peking University, and Professor at the School of Economics, Peking University) taught the course “Frontier Issues in the Economics of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.” This session, focused on “The Economic Logic of the China–U.S. Trade War,” featured several distinguished experts, including Professor Chen Binkai (Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of the Central University of Finance and Economics), who delivered a keynote lecture. Also, Professor Wang Dong (Professor at the School of International Studies and Executive Director of iGCU, Peking University) and Assistant Professor Wu Qunfeng (Department of International Economics and Trade, School of Economics, Peking University) joined the lecture as discussants.
Prof. Wang Dong discussed the theme, “China–U.S. Trade Dispute,” examining the core arguments of Stephen Miran’s report, “A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System.” He analyzed the underlying logic of tariff policy during the Trump administration, reviewed the evolution of US tariffs on China since Trump took office, and assessed the reactions of various stakeholders.
Prof. Wang argued that, even under a potentially more assertive United States economic posture in a second Trump term, a substantive decoupling and severing of China–U.S. economic and trade linkages remains unlikely; nevertheless, bilateral relations are expected to confront heightened uncertainty. He suggested that China should base its approach on the macro trends of re-globalization and long-term strategic vision, actively pursue economic and trade consensus with the US, and work towards building a balanced and sustainable bilateral trade relationship in the new era. In his view, such an approach would inject greater stability and certainty into China–U.S. relations.
During the Q&A session, students spoke energetically, drawing on perspectives from their respective disciplines to analyze and discuss the core drivers behind the ongoing China–U.S. trade conflict.
This course exposed the deeper dynamics and impacts underlying China-U.S. trade conflict, providing important intellectual inspiration and academic insight for cultivating a new generation of talent with a global outlook and solid theoretical grounding.
Professor Wang Dong speaking during the “Frontier Issues in the Economics of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” course at PKU
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