Video with Transcript: Norwegian Politician Reveal Shocking SECRET About China in 2024
VIDEO
Why is America waging an economic war on China? Today I sit down with Erik Solheim, a green politician from Norway who shares his incredible 40 year history of visits to China. China is leading the green revolution and providing the pathway for a better world, but the US wants to wage a war against China. What is the truth about the US China Trade War? What does China Overcapacity really mean? Why has China's government been so successful the past 40 years? We answer all this and more in today's episode
0:00 - Intro to US China Trade War
1:59 - Why America's War Against China is Dangerous
3:04 - Intro to Erik Solheim
4:50 - What was China like in 1984?
5:55 - Why China and the US Must Work Together
7:12 - How Beijing Ended Pollution
10:25 - The Truth About China's EV Industry
14:20 - How China Used Tesla to Build the EV Industry
16:05 - Why Chinese Overcapacity is a Myth!
19:45 - Can the West Compete with China?
22:56 - Why US Tariffs Against China is Useless
25:00 - Why the World Should Embrace China's Rise
26:13 - What Do You Want the World to Know About China?
the United States does not have a coherent trade policy it has a political strategy masquerading his trade policy that is taken dead aim on China this is the cold hard truth about America's trade war against China and Economist Steven roach is correct us politicians have forgotten common sense and basic economics and instead have decided to launch a trade war against China for political reasons this started in 2018 When Donald Trump launched a series of tariffs against China in hopes of decreasing America's ballooning trade deficit but in reality all this did was shift America's trade deficit to other countries simply look at this chart and one can clearly see the US trade deficit has only accelerated after Trump's trade war against China and this Bloomberg article from last month reports the US trade deficit is now $ 68.9 billion as merchandise trade deficit with Mexico climbed to a record by targeting China the US has simply diverted trade away from a lowcost producer to higher cost countries the equivalent of an additional tax hike on American consumers Rising protectionism in the US towards anything Chinese has simply caused higher prices which is exactly why we have seen inflation soar over the past few years in the US economy but here is where the situation gets worse last week Biden announced his plan to increase the Trump Le tariffs against China and will now Target other Industries including steel aluminum semiconductors EVs and solar panels these are all sectors where the United States has almost zero competitive Advantage surprisingly even Elon Musk whose company Tesla would benefit the most from us tariffs against Chinese EVS spoke out against Biden's decision neither Tesla nor I asked for these tariffs in fact I was surprised when they were announced things that inhibit freedom of exchange or distort the market are not good this is quite the statement from musk who understands how important a good relationship with China is for a healthy US economy and this leads us to a much larger problem Biden's increased trade war with China will compromise America's green energy objectives at a time when the effects of climate change have never been more apparent all these moves from the US government now risk turning the world into a worse place if America truly wants to reduce its carbon footprint and participate in any of these emerging green Industries its only option is to collaborate with China don't believe me just listen to this clip from Eric solheim a Norwegian politician who is one of the world's most respected voices on China is green transition basically won in 10 years time uh the war on pollution but that had a huge number of the spin-off effects it the pro put China in the front line as the number one environment protection nation of the world which is an enormous achievement and they turned themselves into the absolute Powerhouse of green production electric cars electric trains metros Trina lead in every single the sector basically China at very Min 60% of every Green sector in the world you will be hardpressed to find a better Insider into China's Green Revolution than Eric solheim Eric is the former minister of climate and the environment of Norway and has been traveling to China for over 40 years he has personally seen China's rise from one of the poorest nations in the world to its current position as a superpower I recently interviewed Eric about China's green development and I'm excited to bring you this exclusive interview in today's video in this interview Eric and I discuss the myth of China's overc capacity and explain how Chinese manufacturing is a benefit to the world and the argument about Chinese over capacity is I mean it's completely besides any rational economic theory Eric and I examine the policies of China's government that have allowed the country to rise so fast compared to the West why is this happen in China goes have a much stronger government United States government is very strong in in military terms but very weak when it comes to the ability to get things done and finally ER and I discuss the best strategy for us and European companies to rise and compete fairly with China it's fair for the US and Europe to find ways to make sure that we can compete that no one should blame the Chinese for being the leaders today's interview is the best Insight you can find on the reality of the US China trade War let's begin Eric welcome to the show thank you so much happy to be on your show oh fantastic I'm really looking forward to this conversation because I think it's so important Eric that more westerners really get to understand you know what is happening in China you know China is making incredible moves you know with the EV industry you know with being the leader now in renewable energy and I think this message is not really heard in Western media and if it's not really heard in a positive way but China's doing a lot of positive things so I wanted to bring you in and really get your insights into China what was your first time that you visited China I went 1984 okay at that time China was purer than most Nations in Africa there was no private cars in China no skyscrapers just one metro line in the entire nation of China and every Chinese was wearing the most boring of clothes and basically eating rice in the South and noodles in the north it was a very very very pure place it's completely different from today of course so I followed the enormous development to China bringing entire population out to extreme poverty which was a major achievement and then in the last decades also turning China around to be the one indispensable Nation for the green transformation of the world it's absolutely sad to see that Western media is distorting this completely I mean it's impossible to get the right impression of China just by following Western media so I can only encourage upon everyone please go and see for yourself that's the best way of getting some more information and I like what you said there that it's indispensable you know the number one nation right now you know for this Green Revolution that we're seeing and and really something that's needed in the world because obviously it's unsustainable the way that we're going with burning fossil fuels I think climate change is a very real problem it's something that also if the United States and China cannot come together on this you know you have to have the two biggest countries you know working together in this space in order to get a positive change isn't that correct absolutely I believe it's an absolute no-brainer and by the way it's not it's not just the environment I mean all the major problems of our time restarting the economies after Co bringing everyone out of poverty solving the wars in Ukraine or in Gaza or Sudan or other horrible Wars and cause climate and environment every single issue right it's easy if we work together and more difficult if it don't work together absolutely now Eric as a green politician I know that you've seen uh this rise from China and certainly becoming the world leader in renewable energy you know I think you certainly would agree that the West should learn from China in this regard um what are some of the key Industries in in China that you know that they're really leading in renewable energy that really the West should be learning from absolutely but if my let me go one step back and try to understand why this shift has happened in China yeah I believe it from the beginning it was all about pollution look 10 years ago Bing was horribly polluted I mean you you could you could deal the air by a knife because it was it was so horribly thick of pollution the sky was gray every day uh three weeks ago I was jogging running in Beijing sky was blue sun was bright can inhale clear fresh air such a transformation that happened because people of China was so tired of this pollution they demand the change from from the leaders and I spoke to a middle class person they always said yes I'm happy with the omic developments but I want to see the Sun or I don't want my children to live in such a pollution then forced by or put pressure by the people the leaders acted and they turn around China that basically won in 10 years time uh the war on pollution but that had a huge number of the spin-off effects it the pro put China in the front line as the number one environment protection nation of the world is an enormous achievement and that turn into the absolute Powerhouse of green electric trains metros TR Le in every single of these sector basically China is at the very minimum 60% of every Green sector in the world yeah it it it is quite in incredible to see the numbers I I I saw a tweet that you had sent out that um that basically had said um you know China's providing a model for the world to follow for this more sustainable Earth about 60% of the world's electric cars 70% of the green rail 60% of metros and 95% of electric buses run in China alone and I first went to China in 2007 I was in Beijing some days the pollution was so thick you could not even see the the color of the traffic lights you know you couldn't see if it was red or green because it was so visibly thick the pollution and it is incredible to see that transformation and a real tangible difference for the people of China and people that are visiting there very different you know from from you know 15 16 years ago when we when I was you know first traveling to China it's an absolute transformation of course A lot of the same has happened in the west I mean Western cities today are much less polluted than the we Western rivers in the danu or the r or the s in Europe they're much less polluted I mean these Olympics the French will organize some of the swimming competition in the sun course have been completely Unthinkable just a few decades ago right however the big difference is that China has done in years what we maybe did in four decades so the speed of this transformation is much higher and the dedication in China uh is to be admired by the road yeah absolutely well we know the China speed is really hard for anybody to keep up with I mean when China's government sets out to do something they usually do it they put all the resources behind it and when it becomes a national priority it is exactly that it gets done very effective very efficient I want to switch gears here though Eric to the EV industry because because this is a very hot topic right now we're seeing a lot of you know moves against China's industry for example this this past week we saw Joe Biden My President here in the United States came out and said that we are going to increase the tariffs on Chinese EVS from 25% to a 100% And basically signaling that they do not want to have Chinese electric vehicles coming into this country into the United States that is at all but I think what's interesting there's a lot of misconceptions because EVS have really changed the entire Auto industry in China I think it's up you know over 50% of the cars now in China are EVS but it's not just one or two companies I mean there's you know many many companies there's incredible Innovation and very much I think China is leading the EV industry can you tell us a little bit more insights about this absolutely I think this was a wonderful environment uh strategy from China but also a very smart business strategy look 10 years ago China yes they had a few factories in the automobile industry but not a single brand which was well known Toyota is probably the most well-known brand in the world or at least among them you go into the deserts of Nevada where you are sitting everyone would know Toyota you go up in the mountains in Norway or into the jungles of Africa every person maybe eight billion people on the planet knows to was nothing like that in China so what did the Chinese do Leap Frog into the electric car industry there they could make Brands and now byd has passed Tesla as the biggest electric car brand in the world but as you said it's about 10 different brands Neo J hungi and also the tech Giants of China the hway and shomi they also going into electric cars and the world should be thankful this is what we all have asked for this was also what the Biden Administration called for until very recently they said we need a very very rapid transformation of the world into green that can of course only happen if the big business is going green and China show the way we should all be grateful of course it's understandable that America or Europe or India whoever also want jobs but the best way to that let's invite Chinese companies to invest in Europe and in America bring their technology bring more competition into the American Electric Vehicle market and China brought Tesla to China to a large extent to create um create competition in the Chinese market to make sure that their companies were ready for competition because they're facing a very very serious Challenger America should do exactly the same invite byd and Neo and really and the others to invest in America speed up transformation and then American companies should be allow should be allowed to compete if you close down the American Market yes maybe you can get an American market for electric cars that would be substantially more costly for American consumers and in all likelihood America will not be globally competitive because a close down American Market will not make competitive cars for the global market simply America will not be able to sell the cars in Mexico or Brazil or Indonesia or India or Europe because they are developed through a prore economy all experience in the last 100 years in the world mean when China was closed down when they was closed down they didn't develop they develop and they opened up the markets that's exactly what America should do now open up the markets for this competition and of course find ways to support her own industry so that it can develop in this difficult and this hard competition yeah that's a very good point Eric I want to talk about one thing you said there because you said that China was very smart because they opened their door to Tesla and allowed Tesla to come in and because of Tesla coming into China that really helped breed the Innovation inside of China you know and one of the interesting things is like you said that in the beginning Toyota was so well known around the world China really saw this as an opportunity because they said you know we cannot compete with the traditional gas um powered car you know that's already developed right the Germans the Japanese the Europeans there's so many great you know gas automakers but maybe we can go ahead and go one step further let's go to the EVS maybe we can be the dominant force in EVS so they really had a very incredible Vision the Chinese government saying let's go ahead and move on to the next thing and try to be the leader in that and what they did is the government started giving out subsidies and what they interesting fact I don't think many people know is that these subsidies were also available to International companies for example Tesla you know Tesla came to China you know you know because of incentives and because of you know the subsidies as a result now the Tesla Factor the Shanghai uh gigafactory it is the largest Factory in Tesla 50% of the world's Teslas are coming from that factory in Shanghai so you have Tesla very much involved and they are very much part of that Chinese EV ecosystem and now you have seen so many of these Chinese companies you know learn from Tesla develop it and now even have technology that's much better and much more advanced than Tesla I mean I've seen some of these new by vehicles I mean I've seen nothing like this technology in in Europe or America I mean these these cars are truly amazing yeah the Chinese cars are better and of course much lower price so they would take basically the entire market so I mean it's it's fair for the US and Europe to find ways to make sure that we can compete but no one should blame the Chinese for being the leaders we are not blaming Apple for being the lead company in the mobile phone industry and look I mean Biden and others are not talking about y went to China and basically told the Chinese oh we making far too many far too good and far too cheap green products that was what we all wanted no one should blame China for that the West should pick up the competition uh to do U to do this better and the argument about Chinese over capacity is I mean it's completely besides any rational economic theory my nation Norway has over capacity in Salmon we're not eating all the salmon we produce in Norway that's why we can sell salmon to say United States to import mobile phones from the United States to Norway apple is the most successful and valuable company maybe in the entire world why they have an enormous overc capacity of mobile phones not not making mobile phones just for America but for the entire rest of the world have over capacity and then us can sell these phones so if China now have so-called over capacity means they make better product at a cheaper rate that's what we all should admire and then of course compete over capacity is the foundational trade and has been frankly I mean the reason what United States of America in the last 100 years has been the dominant power is that it Industries always had over capacity America could produce more than it consumed otherwise it wouldn't have been a dominant power yeah that's a really brilliant Insight the last month all we've heard from us politicians is overcapacity overcapacity you know we need to we need to stop China you know they're producing too much but you're very correct because that's exactly what we need and that's exactly what China has been doing I I like how you put that into perspective that that is why America has been so successful for the last 100 years is because of overcapacity that we're producing more than we can consume hence why we can start exporting around the world um also really love salmon so I I appreciate you and the Norwegians for making so much salmon I had some sushi last night for dinner so had enjoyed probably some Norwegian salmon it is amazing how these politicians in the west fail to understand some of these most basic economic principles like you you very easily answered this question of overcapacity by just doing some simple math and understanding how global trade Works look I mean one of the most successful companies in the world is Samsung with a whole Market of 50 million people they are making mobile phones into the entire world and is the principal competitor to Apple if they could only make for the Korean market I mean what would Samsung have been uh a small outfit in Soul which no one really took notice so so over capacity is the foundational trade uh but of course I mean it's fully understandable that Biden wants jobs in Wisconsin and Michigan I mean he want to win the elections there and he wants to co support his own people people that's completely rational and normal for a politician but he should stop blaming China for being successful and he should look into how can the United States in a rational way support its own Industries so that it can be competitive with Chinese Industries ER I think that brings up an interesting question though because is there a way that that these Western Nations could really compete with China though or or are they too far Advanced because I think there's a few elements here Number One China controls a lot of the critical elements that are needed for the EVS you know when you look at for example the EV battery you know most of those minerals and metals you know China contains anywhere from 60 to 80% of that manufacturing capacity so for example I don't think it is possible for any nation in the world to develop an EV battery without the help of China they have this really strategic Advantage is there any way that that the the US and and Western countries could actually um compete with China or should we just Embrace China as being the number one and look to utilize their products I mean I think overall China has some advantages industrial production which we don't maybe not in all in the west realize it has a huge industrial Highly Educated working class which is not yet developed in India or Africa or other developed Nations and in the US and Europe we have moved into a PO industrial society where very few young people really want to be a highly trained mechanic or electrician or but you need this kind of work and they still have status in China if they tend not to have say in the United States China also course as a market of 1.4 billion people well that's as much as North America South America and Europe combin uh so if you succeed in the Home Market of China you will tend also to be globally competitive and added of course China is a much stronger government look in 2008 China had zero absolutely zero uh High speed rail United States also had zero high speed rail at the time we all thought that there would be high speed rail from San Francisco to Los Angeles to San Diego it was all on the cards lot of preparations have been done we thought it was just to roll it out well since 2008 China R out 45,000 kilometers of highspeed rail that's circumventing the globe once at equator United States of America has not sorry to say developed any serious highp speed rail not in California nowhere else there is something in Florida which is have some qu qualities of high speed ra even if it's not even close to the Chinese speed so why is this happen in China go have a much stronger government United States government is very strong in in military terms but very weak when it comes to the ability to get things done so yes China has a number of advantages but the only way for the West to react is of course to look into how can we compete where are the areas where where we can compete maybe inviting Chinese companies to invest in America and Europe is the best way also to unravel how they work so speedly and fast and with high quality and of course it also bringing competitors into our Market which will Shore up competition and force Volkswagen or General Motors or for to really compete right now that's great insights Eric um I want to take it one step further and talk about some other Industries as well because you know going back to these tariffs that Joe Biden had introduced you know we've now seen an increase you've got 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum we have 50% on semiconductors another 50% on solar panels which is again a very big industry here in the United States um and then obviously like we said 100% on Chinese EVS tell me more about your opinion on these tariffs on the other Industries you know besides just the EVS you know will this really work to suppress China's growth in these industries I very much doubt it I don't think the United States will be competitive towards China in these industries I tend to believe also that the United States will be better Serve by focusing on its own strength rather than its weaknesses I mean look whenever China makes a railroad in Africa and it has happen frequently there are some American Diplomat or Minister running around say oh this is very dangerous for Africa but of course you can never ever get any African lead it to stop getting a railroad from China if not and United States is highly and likely to compete since it has not developed railroads at home it's very hard to do it abroad why don't the us then focus on its own strength during Co it seems to be the case that American companies made the vaccines uh why don't the United States offer Africa uh to take less of the risk of vaccines in Africa take that in the Home Market which can pay in the vest and sheap vaccines for Africa but it's also the case that American University still has the highest prestige anywh in the world are more people who want to go to Harvard or Yale or or Princeton then to Singa or ping well invite lots of students to these universities build on your strengths not build on your weaknesses and the ability of the United States to produce Industrial Products as efficient low cost and high qual as China uh it's at least very hard to see maybe will happen but I I doubt it yeah I think that's a good thing I mean I I agree with you here and kind of the big takeaway that I've got from today's conversation is we should embrace China's rise in EVs and and also the green production because what they've done in China in a very short period of time is really providing a model for the world because you've we've seen the tangible result right we've seen the pollution reduction we've seen now you know 50% of cars on the road being EVS a much Greener a more sustainable you know that certainly a strength right manufacturing is the strength of China you know that's exactly why Apple goes to China to make the iPhone you know because they said it's not just about you know being able to produce it cheaper but it's also the highquality engineers that were able to find there they can really you know do the high quality manufacturing you know that's something that has changed so significantly in China right you know 40 years ago we think of China as only making cheap products now China can you know certainly make cheap products but they can also make the most Advanced and highly meticulous products as well and like you said you know us has other strengths you know I would agree our University system very famous in the world and you know there's a lot of other areas of expertise that we can focus on uh Eric as we come to the conclusion of today's interview I want to ask one question that I ask every guest that comes on the show it's a great question because our goal with this channel is to help people understand China more and see it from a different lens so what is one thing that you want the world to know about China I think for most people today people are not aware that it's the most mod place on Earth I mean if you go to the great cities particularly in southern China like shenen guango hongo H they are the most modern cities in the world there's there's nothing like that I mean they have the best infrastructure the cleanest streets the highest number of skyscrapers highest number of robots I mean there are really the you are really seeing the future if you go there if I may add of course I I am also very interest in history so what's fascinating with China is this modernity com coupled with with the roots of of the nation because for nearly all of human history China was the most advanced place right the time of the Roman Empire Han China and Roman Empire was basically the same size basically the same population and basically the same level of human development for the rest of History before the modern times China was far ahead I mean Chinese cities were 15 times bigger than any City in uh both today North America not to speak or or Europe so China was so much more advanced my advice to people is simply just wrap up your curiosity be a little bit more Curious don't cause TR Western media which gives a completely wrong impression of China go there see listen to music watch movies uh take an interest in the in the rapid development of technology in China and of course take an interest in these thousands of years of History which is so incredibly fascinating and the student of History cannot find cannot find a more wonderful place than than China yeah that's excellent Eric thank you so much it's been a absolute pleasure to have you on the show and to get your insights thank you for all you do thank you for being a green politician and prioritizing the future of our planet and certainly being a great advocate of a better relationship with China I think that is something that we can all um you know learn to work towards and I think today's interview I hope that more people can understand a little bit more about how much China has change the world and how it's continuing to be this leader and the big takeaway is that we need to embrace that not fear that but embrace it really for a better future in our world in North America and Europe as well thank you so much for having me all right thank you Eric take care everyone thank you for spending time with me on YouTube and I hope you enjoyed Eric's insights into China I want to give a special thanks to a fellow Norwegian friend named Tommy who introduced Eric and I to each other and helped set up today's interview longtime viewers of the channel will remember Tommy from an episode I recorded last summer in China Tommy is the only Norwegian Factory owner in China and I personally flew all the way to Jin a small town on the outskirts of woi to visit Tommy and his business partner Andy who co-own an amazing textile Factory in China this video has gone on to receive over 770,000 views and currently ranks number one on Google search for China Factory if you are curious to see what a real china Factory looks like click here to watch this behind the-scenes look into this amazing textile Factory I promise you you're going to absolutely enjoy this video and as always thank you for your support and we'll see you in our
