Since it acceded to the World Trade Organisation in 2001, China has surfed the globalisation wave like no other.
The figures are eye-watering. Between 2001 and 2023, Beijing’s GDP (gross domestic product) increased from $1.3 trillion (€1.13 trillion) to $18 trillion, while its annual trade in goods jumped from $510 billion to $6.3 trillion.
If you’re looking for a northern hemisphere equivalent, Ireland, on a per capita basis, might well fit the bill. There’s certainly no other country in Europe that has experienced a bigger transformation in trade and foreign direct investment than Ireland.
More than 900,000 new jobs have been created in the Irish economy since 2012.
Childcare in Ireland: ‘Even as well-paid professionals, it was an exhausting struggle. The numbers never added up’
Smooth Company’s Áine Kennedy: ‘My screen time is outrageous. I don’t have a work-life balance at the moment’
Semi-state CEOs: What do they earn and should they be paid more?
Pay, perks and CEO prerogatives
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest staff report on the Irish economy, published yesterday, highlights the ongoing strength of the domestic economy and the positive growth outlook, even with the uncertainty created by Donald Trump’s tariffs.
But it also warns of the unique threat to growth and prosperity here from the current backlash against globalisation.
“A sustained reversal of globalisation would put at risk the Irish economic model, which has benefited from free trade and capital flows,” the Washington-based fund warns.
Will rent reform make building apartments viable?
It notes that heightened global uncertainty and tariffs, while contained at the moment, are likely to “weigh on household and business spending decisions”.
Not anything we don’t know already, but a reminder that Ireland’s economic success has been contingent on global tailwinds that may be about to turn.
In his response, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said: “I note and share the IMF’s assessment of external risks, notably the reversal of globalisation, the ongoing disruption caused by regional conflicts, domestic capacity constraints, and the uncertainty in relation to corporation tax receipts.
“While I acknowledge Ireland’s vulnerability to the rise in global uncertainty, our economy has demonstrated resilience in the face of consecutive large shocks.”
On the domestic front, the IMF’s report zeros in on supply-side constraints that “could delay the attainment of infrastructure and housing goals”.
Time will tell.
