[Correspondent Column] Dealing with Communism in the United States

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] After World War II (1939?1945), the world was divided between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In 1970, the United States had the world's largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at $1.0759 trillion. The USSR's GDP was $434.4 billion, less than half of the U.S., but it was overwhelmingly the world's second largest economy.

After World War II, the Western bloc, led by the United States, employed various methods to contain the expansion of the communist bloc centered on the USSR. A representative example is the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom). Established in 1949 under U.S. leadership, CoCom included 15 NATO countries along with Japan and Australia. The core of CoCom was an economic blockade policy. The Western bloc controlled the export of strategic materials to prevent threats from the USSR and other communist countries. CoCom arose from concerns that advanced Western technologies could fall into the hands of the USSR and other communist countries, threatening the democratic bloc. It controlled the export of nearly all civilian technologies that could potentially be used for military purposes.

The United States did not forgive its allies if they violated CoCom regulations. In 1987, it was discovered that Japanese company Toshiba Machine sold high-performance screw manufacturing machines to the USSR. The U.S. used Toshiba Machine as a test case. Although the Japanese Prime Minister apologized and the chairman of Toshiba resigned, that was not enough. The U.S. banned Toshiba Machine's exports to the U.S. market for four years.

The U.S. containment of the USSR was successful. The Soviet economy increasingly lagged behind the U.S. In 1983, the USSR's GDP rose to $993 billion, but it was insufficient to catch up with the U.S. That year, the U.S. GDP was $3.6381 trillion, more than three times the Soviet economy. The USSR eventually collapsed in 1991. While it is difficult to say definitively that the Soviet collapse was due to U.S. containment policies, it certainly had a significant impact. After the USSR disappeared, CoCom was disbanded in 1994. The Cold War had ended.

Thirty years after the Cold War ended, the term "(New) Cold War" has reemerged. The new target of the U.S. is China. Although China’s economy was once large but lacking in significant technology or capital, it has rapidly caught up to the U.S. In the past year, China’s GDP reached $14.7 trillion, accounting for 70.3% of the U.S. GDP ($20.9 trillion). In 2008, China’s GDP was only 31% of the U.S. GDP. At the current pace, it is highly likely that the world’s largest GDP country will change between 2028 and 2030. China’s economic size is not the only factor. It has also made remarkable advances in cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing. Even space exploration, including Mars missions once thought possible only for the U.S., is not lagging behind.

President Joe Biden will attend this week’s Group of Seven (G7) summit, followed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit. As a president who values alliances, Biden is likely to discuss China-related issues at these meetings. A joint statement to tighten restrictions on China may be issued. Biden will even hold a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping. For Xi, who is preparing for the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party’s founding on July 1, this is an aggressive move that cannot be ignored. Depending on the outcome of Biden’s overseas trip, the significance of the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th anniversary event could be diminished. China, however, is not expected to yield easily. The prevailing view is that China will never back down on military, geopolitical, ideological, or value-related issues.

The world is closely watching the results of President Biden’s overseas trip, as it may provide insight into the future direction of the global order.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.