The concept of free trade plays a vital role in the development of the modern globalized world. The world economy leaders compete for the shares in the most perspective countries and markets. The decision of the Western countries to slow down its progress in this field and the demonstration of the Chinese “One Belt, One Road” program can become the beginning of the new political era. In these circumstances, it is important to evaluate the difference between the existing Western and Chinese world orders. It will help to define the perspectives of the current situation for the developing countries and the world as a whole.
The Difference of Western and Chinese Vision on the Free Trade World
To understand the difference between the Western and Chinese approaches to the promotion of the free trade principles throughout the globe, it is necessary to define the aims of each side in this process and the means they are ready to use to reach their goals.
The Vision of China
In the contemporary world, China became the leading world producing economy. As a result of the rapid growth during the last decades, the country has acquired a huge production capacity and financial resources. In fact, such situation will definitely lead to the overproduction crisis inside the country (Perlez & Huang). In this case, it is impossible to say that the growing production volumes will guarantee the increased domestic consumption within the country. As a result, the country can face the stagnation of the production and the growth of unemployment. In the conditions of China, with prosperous eastern regions and poor western areas, such situation will definitely lead to the social turmoil. The only solution to this issue is the growth of export volume.
The other concern of China is the need for foreign resources and materials. At the current level of production technologies’ development, the country cannot provide production facilities with its own raw materials (Albert). The main articles of China’s imports are rare earth metals and energy resources. The realization of the new “One Belt, One Road” strategy is supposed to create conditions for reducing the time and money spent while transporting raw materials from other countries to China (New Zealand Herald). In this way, the “One Belt, One Road” strategy is the project that will allow China to maintain its current rate of economic growth for several decades. The question here is whether the new strategy will become the real benefit for countries in which China will invest funds.


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The Western Vision
The current situation regarding the attempts of the Western countries to ensure the world free trade raises serious questions about a common point of view on this problem among the Western elite. The decision to avoid participation in the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership (TPP) program put the US in a weaker position in comparison with China. At the same time, the decision of the Great Britain to withdraw from the European Union raises the question of the viability of the second center of Western civilization in the world. Despite the arguments of the World Trade Organization and the World Bank about the importance of the free trade, the Western countries seem to resort to a policy of protectionism.
Nevertheless, it is important to define the features of the Western free trade policy and compare it to the Chinese analog. First of all, it is important to highlight that the specific of the Western policy was the orientation on the improvement of the economic and social conditions in the developing countries. For example, the TPP program suggested the implementation of high standards among the partner countries. Among these standards, there were the “environmental protection, workers’ rights and regulatory coherence” (BBC News, 2017). In this way, the US created incentives for the improvement of the working conditions in the developing countries. At the same time, a lot of attention had been paid to the reduction of the customs tariffs for trade between parties to the agreement. This decision created conditions for the equal economic growth of each TPP participant. In general, it is possible to say that the Western approach to the development of free trade seems to be fair for each participant.
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The Effect on the Developing Countries
As for the developing countries, it is difficult to define which of the presented approaches can be more attractive. Here, the reason is that each great economic and political power aims at using less developed and powerful countries as a weapon in their plans realization.
From this point of view, the Western approach can guarantee the obvious good in the form of the environmental and working conditions’ improvement. Nevertheless, the Western countries usually used the resources of the developing countries without an adequate payment and left these countries exhausted and politically unstable.
The Chinese proposal also does not look so attractive for the developing world. Though China invests in an infrastructure project, the profitability of these actions for the developing countries is not so obvious. For example, the construction of the railroad in Laos can start bringing profits only in eleven years after its full implementation (Perlez & Huang, 2017). Also, many participants of the Chinese program have doubts about their possibility of paying for the proposed innovations.
Other disadvantages of the Chinese program for the developing world are that China uses its domestic companies and labor to implement the project. This fact does not contribute to the growth of employment and economic stability in the developing world. In fact, it is impossible to say that any of the discussed free trade policies can bring prosperity to each of its participants. Despite this, the Western concept of free trade can be more flexible and adapted for the benefit of most players in the world market.
The Changes in the Positions of the World Hegemon
The interconnection and decentralization of the world business become factors of world trade development (McCarty, 2015, p. 4). In such conditions, the leading economic powers have a real chance to establish regional or even world hegemony due to the peaceful development of interstate relations.
How It Works
The earlier described approaches to the free trade development can become a factor of the modern political history re-reading (McCarty, 2015, p. 6). The growth of China and the decision of the US to avoid fighting for the Asian region can become an end of the existing world order (The New York Times, 2017). The expansion of China’s sphere of influence will, in any case, lead to the weakening of former world leaders. The modern China has all the factors – financial and economic power, significant production volume, and the serious political influence in Europe, Asia, and Africa, – to become a new world leader.
Conclusion
The contemporary conditions of the world politics and economy make one think about the emergence of the new world leader. The presence of apathy and political differences among the current world hegemon only stimulates this process. Despite this, it is difficult to say whether this process will bring more profits of losses to the world economy.