US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — The coronavirus pandemic will not curtail globalization, according to The Wall Street Journal: for example, China is already gradually coping with the epidemic and is hinting at an increase in its foreign investment.
In addition, in the post-crisis period, the state will allocate significant funds for the restoration of economies. According to the publication, globalization has already experienced many crises: the world ties created by it are stable and profitable and it is very difficult to destroy them.
Over the past week, the spread of coronavirus has become a global pandemic, plunging the world economy into recession, writes The Wall Street Journal. Travel stops, borders close, hundreds of millions of people in Europe are quarantined. The crisis has taken away trillions of dollars from global stock markets, and has also endangered millions of small businesses.
According to the publication, the subsequent economic downturn will provide new arguments for those who in recent years talked about the end or the slowdown of the globalization process. At the height of the crisis, it is difficult to object to such forecasts, but this should still be done, according to The Wall Street Journal.
According to the publication, globalization will not end after the coronavirus: yes, disruptions in travel and trade will not immediately recover, and a number of enterprises will be nationalized, but the post-crisis period will show that globalization is easy to hate, convenient to criticize and impossible to stop.
According to The Wall Street Journal, signs of a slowdown in globalization appeared before the epidemic. Last year, global trade growth was only 1%. This was largely due to the trade war between the United States and China: trade between the two countries returned to the 2013 level. At the same time, China continued to actively increase its investments abroad: Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. The publication believes that the epidemic will not stop this trend: the PRC is gradually overcoming the crisis and the Chinese government is hinting at an increase in investment.
Further evidence is the recently updated NAFTA agreement, which demonstrates US commitment to free trade even under Trump. As for Europe, the shock from Brexit, apparently, served as an impetus to strengthen integration and increase the volume of mutual investment. In addition, after the viral crisis, additional government funds are expected to be allocated for recovery, not only in Europe, but also in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia.
Of course, coronavirus is a negative by-product of globalization, The Wall Street Journal writes: the current scale of tourism, trade and business makes pandemic prevention virtually impossible. At the same time, it is international cooperation that may become the only effective means against future epidemics.
According to the publication, the sharp decline caused by the coronavirus does not mean the final break of the complex system of supply chains and markets built over the past few decades. This system is stable, profitable and difficult to destroy. Coronavirus is unlikely to stop the trend that survived the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, and a huge number of other crises.
It is possible that the coronavirus will usher in a new phase of globalization, The Wall Street Journal notes: it will not be so active, but it will not experience such harsh economic and ideological responses.
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The article is written and prepared by our foreign editors from different countries around the world – material edited and published by Ordo News staff in our US newsroom press.