Hur länge kommer globalismen hålla isig?

Despite all the apparent movement, the facts on the ground look rather different. Far from succeeding in isolating China over the past four years — and in spite of the autarkic fears raised by President Xi Jinping’s promotion of self-reliance — the Trump era has seen the country integrated ever more deeply into the global economy. As we’ve argued, the forces placing China in the middle of the world’s trade and investment flows are stronger than a pandemic or any one U.S. president.

Take trade. China’s exports grew at a faster-than-expected 11.4% in dollar terms in October, the country’s customs authorities reported over the weekend. Exports through the past four months alone have been roughly in line with their level during the whole of 2006, at a time when talk of China as the “world’s factory” hit an apex.

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After plummeting in the early months of the Covid pandemic, foreign direct investment into China has been accelerating since April, with the sum of foreign capital utilized in September up 25% from a year earlier.

One visible example of that trend has been the well-publicized rush of Chinese companies into U.S. initial public offerings in recent months. It’s not the only instance, though. Indeed, 2020 looks on track to be the strongest year in history for inbound takeovers of mainland businesses, with 2019 and 2018 taking second and third place