(1) The surging tide of economic globalization has become an irreversible trend of world economic development.
1. The concept of economic globalization
Economic globalization means that with the continuous development of scientific and technological revolution and the promotion of production internationalization, the economies of various countries are increasingly interdependent and interpenetrating, and various factors of production gradually get rid of various obstacles and barriers to realize global free flow, forming an organic whole that affects the whole body, and various economic components and economic ties of countries, regions and ethnic groups become an inseparable whole in this process. To understand globalization correctly, we should realize that (1) economic globalization is an objective trend of world economic development and is inevitable. It is the objective requirement and inevitable result of the development of social productive forces and science and technology. Without this process, all countries in the world cannot develop in isolation. (2) Economic globalization is a process in which the productive forces transcend national boundaries, the factors of production freely flow and optimize their allocation around the world, and the global economy continues to grow. The formation of economic globalization is an objective process. All countries in the world are deeply involved in this process, regardless of their wishes.
2. The performance of economic globalization
Today's economic globalization is most obviously manifested in the development of international trade, international investment, international currency and multinational corporations.
First, international trade has become an indispensable part of the economic development of all countries and the most active link in international exchanges. From 1989 to 1996, the trade volume of goods and services grew at an average annual rate of 6.2%, almost twice the world GDP in the same period.
Second, international investment, especially mutual investment between developed countries, is becoming more and more frequent, and capital flows are internationalized. As early as the end of 1980s, the capital output of developed countries exceeded $3 trillion, of which three quarters were mutual investment among developed countries. The rapid growth of international investment has brought about the internationalization of capital.
Third, the scale of international financial activities is unprecedented, far exceeding world production and commodity trade. In recent years, the international financial market has shown the characteristics of multi-centralization and integration, internationalization of creditors and shareholders, and the increasing field and business volume of international finance and services, which makes international finance more and more active and complex.
Fourth, multinational companies are all over the world, and the level of internationalization of their products is getting higher and higher. They have become the main undertaker and embodiment of the internationalization of contemporary economic production, and their activities involve all fields of world economic life. In short, in the 2 1 century, we will usher in a new era of all-round development of trade, finance, investment, information and technology globalization. In the first two decades of this century, a new round of multilateral trade negotiations within the framework of the WTO will be launched and achieve initial results. The contents of the negotiations will be broader and more countries will participate in it, which will greatly promote the process of economic globalization.
3. Main features of economic globalization
First of all, economic globalization is compatible with knowledge economy and information technology.
Judging from the development process of the world economy, today's economic globalization has surpassed the era of industrial economy, but adapted to the knowledge economy. In the global international economic relations, there are not only large-scale international exchanges of goods, services and capital, but also the wide application of information technology provides people with more convenient means of international communication and makes international economic relations closer. Without the knowledge economy based on the production, exchange and consumption of knowledge and the informationization of the world economy, there would be no economic globalization today.
Second, economic globalization is the global expansion of market economy, and it is also the globalization of market economic system and operation mechanism, that is, the development of market economy has become the basic requirement of economic globalization.
From a global perspective, first of all, China implemented reform and opening up, and the socialist market economic system was basically established. After entering the new century, China government is making efforts to gradually improve the market system; Due to the great changes in the former Soviet Union and eastern European countries, most countries that used to implement planned economy embarked on the road of market economy, and now they are in the process of economic system transition. The next 20 or 20 years will be a crucial period for Russia, Eastern Europe and other countries in transition to basically complete their transition to a market economy. Secondly, most developing countries have adopted the development orientation of market economy system after gaining political independence, and the first two decades of 2 1 century will be a period for many developing countries to implement system reform. Finally, for developed countries, it is not to establish, but to further develop the market economy system to meet the needs of the information age and the knowledge economy era. It is precisely because all countries in the world have reached a broad consensus on developing market economy and accelerating market-oriented reform that economic globalization can develop smoothly.
Third, economic globalization is dominated by developed countries.
The current globalization system is organized and implemented by some western powers that dominate international affairs. The monopoly and hegemony of the most competitive western powers in international affairs are trying to gradually expand their production methods to all countries. As Giddens said, as the only superpower, the United States has profoundly and significantly influenced the formation of a new global order. In some ways, it tries to push the provisions of the American Constitution to the whole world. This kind of globalization is a forced process for most countries, and it is a process they can't get rid of. For the United States, this is a process consciously promoted and maintained by its economic elite and political elite. The purpose of this globalization process, which is mainly guided and controlled by developed countries, is to implement unfair distribution and competition of resources and markets on a global scale, unify the whole world with capitalist economic, political and cultural systems and models of western powers, and realize the proposition that underdeveloped countries should follow the pace of world historical development of developed countries.
Fourth, economic globalization is a double-edged sword. It not only reflects the current objective situation of the development of world productive forces, but also reflects the global expansion of capitalist relations of production. For economically weak developing countries, opportunities and risks coexist, so we must pay attention to the advantages and avoid disadvantages. Faced with economic globalization, developing countries have no choice but to face it bravely.
In a word, the development of economic globalization is the objective trend of the development of the world today, which is characterized by the generalization of various phenomena in real economic life. Only by fully understanding these characteristics and development trends of economic globalization can we better grasp it and deeply understand its influence on world economic development.
(2) The scale and mode of world economic integration and regional collectivization are accelerating.
Economic integration refers to the economic alliance formed between countries to adapt to economic globalization. It is based on the agreement between countries, exists in the form of groups, and has a set of supranational institutions. The main difference between integration and globalization is that globalization is an objective process, which is manifested in the unprecedented interdependence of national economies, while integration is the product of subjective will and a certain form of economic organization based on contract. With the development of economic globalization, regional economic groups are also developing rapidly. They are not contradictory, but promote each other and go hand in hand. Although regional collectivization is more or less exclusive, all regional organizations have implemented the policy of opening to the outside world and tried to link the regional economy with the global economy. Regional collectivization is the product of the development of economic globalization to a certain extent, and the climax of regionalization in turn promotes the deepening of economic globalization. Nowadays, regional economic groups are developing in depth, and there are many large and small economic groups, among which the strengthening of the trend of economic collectivization in Western Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific has the most striking impact on the world economic trend.
At present, the European Union (EU) is the most effective and highly integrated regional group. Since the Treaty of Rome came into effect in 1958+ 10 and the European economy was established, after decades of efforts, the integration of Western Europe has made great achievements. 1985 10, Europe * * * proposed to establish a European unified market,199310 "Ma? The Treaty of Stricht came into effect and the European Union was founded. 1 June 19951,Sweden, Finland and Austria joined, which expanded the EU from 12 to 15. 1996 12 The European Union Dublin Summit adopted three documents, namely, the legal status of the euro, the budget stability pact and the exchange rate mechanism of the new currency, and the European Economic and Monetary Union made significant progress. Among 15 member countries, 1 1 countries except Britain, Denmark, Sweden and Greece have joined the European monetary system. 1 99965438+1October1euro started as scheduled, 1 1 country * * all used the euro, and the currencies of various countries withdrew from the circulation field in 2002. This is the most important change in the international monetary system since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, and a new competitive pattern will emerge in the international reserve system, which will have a great impact on international finance and the world economy. Moreover, at the end of 2002, the EU took a key step in its eastward expansion, and formally reached a series of agreements with Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta and other countries. In May 2004, these 10 countries formally joined the European Union, and in 2007 10, 65438+65438. Since then, the EU has changed from the original 15 country to 27 countries, making the total area of the EU more than 4 million square kilometers, GDP increased by 5%, and the total population increased by 25%, reaching nearly 500 million.
The North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) was developed on the basis of the free trade agreement signed by the United States and Canada in June 1987+00. 1 Since August 1992, the North American Free Trade Area was established by absorbing Mexico on the basis of the United States and Canada.1Since August 1994,1was officially launched. The Free Trade Zone has a population of 364 million, ranking first in the world in terms of annual gross national product and import and export trade volume. It is the first economic group in the world composed of developed and developing countries. The economic strength of the three countries is very different, and the United States is in an absolute dominant position. According to the agreement, the trade zone will eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers in three stages within 15 years to realize the free flow of goods, services, capital and people. According to the idea of "launching American business initiative" in the United States, the ultimate goal is to connect North America and South America and establish the Free Trade Area of the Americas. The North American Free Trade Area is to realize its "American initiative". When several major Latin American countries were in financial crisis, the United States provided a large number of US dollar loans to these countries to help them get out of trouble. This move actually created conditions for NAFTA to extend to Latin America and establish the Free Trade Area of the Americas by saving MERCOSUR. Therefore, it is entirely possible for the United States to eventually establish a free trade area of the Americas including major countries in North America and Central and South America through multilateral and bilateral accumulation.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is the most dynamic economic cooperation organization in the world. At present, it has 2 1 members and has great economic potential. Due to different social systems, different economic systems, different levels of economic development and strong national self-awareness, regional groups have not yet been established, which obviously lags behind the vigorous development of other regional groups. Based on this, Asia and East Asia call for the reconstruction and innovation of cooperation mechanism. The cooperation mechanism between the ten ASEAN countries and China, Japan and South Korea (10+3) came into being, and the cooperation mechanism between China and ASEAN (10+ 1) was officially launched in 2003. With a population of1800 million, this free trade zone will become the largest among developing China countries and the third largest in the world after the EU and NAFTA.
In recent years, the regional economic collectivization has been continuously strengthened, which has had a far-reaching impact on many aspects of world economic life. First of all, it has opened up a broader and more realistic development path for economic globalization and will further promote the process of economic globalization. Second, promote major changes in the world economic structure and lay the foundation for a multipolar pattern. Third, promote the comprehensive adjustment of international economic relations.