The Chinese Government has recently mandated a "Buy Chinese" clause to its £400bn stimulus package that will require firms awarded government contracts to gain explicit government approval for all foreign products and services they wish to buy.  Beijing labeled President Obama's own "Buy Local" stimulus package "protectionist poison", which further reveals how worthless the promises at the G-20 meeting in London to avoid engaging in protectionism really are.

China has proven a model for the success of unilateral lifting of trade barriers, having understood that these barriers harm domestic producers and consumers most.  Its remarkable period of liberalisation since the end of the devastating New Cultural Revolution has led to an unprecedented period of prosperity and growth.  China is now the world's 3rd largest economy.  Now that it seems intent on repeating the mistakes of others, the country can no longer claim to be a model for trade reform.  Given the massive impact that the Chinese stimulus package and the degree to which supply chains from all over the planet trace their way through this globally-integrated economy, this recent Government edict signals a turn inwards, away from the global economy - with devastating consequences.