Content overview: “Why China's Biggest Strength Is About to Become Its Biggest Problem”. China ran a $1.2 trillion trade surplus last year, many of its companies don't need to make a profit, and its exports are growing at two to three times the rate of the global economy. Michael Froman, former US Trade Representative under President Obama and now president of the Council on Foreign Relations, explains why Xi Jinping sees a consumer-led economy as a political threat. Froman also examines what happens when China finally runs out of countries willing to buy its goods.
The question sits at the center of global trade tensions, as surplus production meets resistance from trading partners and the limits of external demand. The conversation connects China's export model to its domestic politics and to the wider international system, offering a framework for understanding why the country's greatest economic strength may also be its most serious vulnerability. The full version stays on the original page, which this listing opens directly.