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Varoufakis: China Did Not Cheat to Prosperity

Source: project-syndicate.org

TL;DR

Yanis Varoufakis debunks the myth that China cheated its way to prosperity amid rising US-China tensions.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)[[2]](https://qoshe.com/project-syndicate/yanis-varoufakis/telling-the-truth-about-china-s-success/188265532)
Western firms handed over IP for market access; China's capacity use is below 75%, wages up eightfold.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)
West must own its offshoring failures to avoid war-priming narratives and pursue real policy.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)

The story at a glance

Yanis Varoufakis, writing from Athens for Project Syndicate, argues against Western claims that China cheated to become prosperous. He lists five accusations and refutes them with facts on IP transfers, currency, controls, capacity, and wages. The piece comes amid Persian Gulf conflict and US-China cold war risks, urging truth for de-escalation.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)[[2]](https://qoshe.com/project-syndicate/yanis-varoufakis/telling-the-truth-about-china-s-success/188265532)

Key points

China did not steal IP; Western multinationals voluntarily shared it for decades to access China's market, as Chinese planners demanded technology transfer.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)
Renminbi is not undervalued; the US dollar is overvalued, reflected in America's large current-account deficit.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)
Capital controls are not cheating; they underpinned the Bretton Woods era's stability in the US, Europe, and Japan.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)
No industrial overcapacity: China's capacity utilization is under 75% (below US levels), inventories stable, exporter profits up over 10%.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)
China's edge comes from planning, education, and rapid prototyping; wages rose eightfold in manufacturing since 2006, now topping other Asian developing nations.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)
Consumer spending grows faster in China than in Japan, South Korea, or Indonesia at similar development stages.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)

Details and context

Varoufakis ties his argument to timely geopolitics: missiles in the Persian Gulf heighten fears of Pacific war between the US and China. He sees the "cheating" myth as a Western elite fiction to dodge blame for deindustrialization.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)

Western firms offshored jobs, weakened unions, and chased short-term gains while China built education, rail, health, and green infrastructure. This contrast explains China's "hyper-competitiveness," not foul play.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)

China's model echoes successful Asian tigers but with better consumption and wage growth. Global imbalances exist but stem from mutual flaws, like US deficits funded by capital inflows.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)

Key quotes

"Western corporations didn’t lose to China; they sold out to China."[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)

"Sanctions against China are a ludicrous substitute for industrial policy."[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)

Why it matters

The myth fuels Sinophobia that risks Pacific war, distracting from shared economic imbalances. For businesses and investors, it means facing offshoring realities over futile blame; citizens see why jobs vanished. Watch US-China talks and Western industrial revival efforts, though success is uncertain.[[1]](https://projectsyndicate.substack.com/p/telling-the-truth-about-chinas-success)