worsen [Old,World,worries:,Protectionism,will,only,worsen,the,fallout,from,Europe]
时间：2019-05-21 03:19:48 来源：柠檬阅读网 本文已影响 人 
All eyes have been on the sovereign debt firestorm engulfing Europe in recent months. This is especially true for China: Europe is the country’s biggest export market, and many expect the contagion to spread to China via falling export demand.
Firm data is not yet in, but the early prognosis of the turmoil’s impact on the Chinese economy is not good. The country’s manufacturing sector shrank in November for the first time since 2009. Two-thirds of Chinese export manufacturers said their shipments to Europe have fallen in recent months, while more than one-third reported a “significant impact” on their business, according to a survey by Global Sources. Prices to ship goods from China to Europe have fallen by around 40% from August, suggesting that European demand is in a free-fall.
at all costs
Yet for all the danger, the crisis also presents an upshot for China. Although European countries are deeply indebted, their companies are reasonably healthy. Mark Rushton, senior business manager at the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said that many firms are strengthening their investments in China, as slack demand at home pushes them further into emerging markets.
“We heard from a lot of [European companies] that losing in China is out of the question,” he said. “They cannot lose because China is too important now. It’s the biggest growth market since the 2008 crisis.”
Recent data suggests this attitude is widespread. While foreign direct investment into China from the US plummeted 23.1% year-on-year from January to November, that of the EU actually rose slightly – suggesting that European companies remain far more committed to China than their American counterparts.
Unfortunately, Europe’s capital is not as welcome in China as it once was. Faced with the threat of renewed economic turmoil in Europe – not to mention a sensitive leadership transition – China’s policymakers are turning ever more protectionist.
To be sure, foreign companies are still generating outsized profits in China. But the trajectory of liberalization is shifting. New headline-grabbing measures have been unmistakably laden with anti-foreign undertones. China has introduced a new 40%-plus tax on foreign employees, slapped Unilever with fines for raising prices and targeted Wal-Mart with extortionate fees for fairly trivial offenses.
Less noticed, but in many ways more damaging, has been the attitude shift within China’s commercial bureaucracy. Anecdotal evidence has abounded in recent months of business visa restrictions being tightened, investment approvals delayed or rejected, and procurement processes becoming even more biased against foreign firms.
The pain is most tangible for foreign companies. But that pales in comparison to the damage that these practices will wreak on the Chinese economy. As more foreign firms are blocked from investing, China’s workers will have fewer options for employment, and its companies will be deprived of prospective funding. In short, China’s standard of living will fall below its potential.
The bad news is that the situation may get worse before it gets better. If Europe’s economic conflagration burns hotter, Chinese officials’ first instinct will be to further batten down the hatches, sidelining inbound trade and investment. The Chinese people will ultimately pay the price.
