Be Wary of the Chinese Dragon

Last Thursday, the Chinese ambassador in London, Mr. Liu Xiaoming wrote an article in the Telegraph describing what he sees as a warming of ties between Britain and China. The ambassador's article comes on the eve of the visit of China's Vice Premier Li Keqiang to the UK next week. This visit, Mr Xiaoming writes, 'will bring another Chinese warm breeze to the UK.' Economic co-operation between Britain and China has been growing steadily over recent decades and, according the Mr. Xiaoming at least, the two countries share a plethora of common ideals:

'We both call on the international community to step up macroeconomic policy co-ordination and reform international economic and financial governance structures; we both uphold free trade, oppose trade protectionism and work for an early conclusion of the Doha round negotiations; we have had close dialogue and co-ordination in relation to the Iranian nuclear situation and other hotspots. China and the UK need to work together to address global issues.'

However, in light of last week's events in France, the UK and its political and commercial leaders should be aware that with China things are not always what they seem. Three senior employees of French carmaker Renault have been suspended pending an investigation into suspected industrial espionage. Now it seems that the French government is looking into possible Chinese involvement in the matter.

'A member of the DCRI [Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur, the French intelligence services] told Le Point that French companies had underestimated the potential damage of industrial spying: "French companies don't have a sense of economic intelligence," he said.
He added: "This is a classic case of spying. The Chinese are masters of this and they've gone on the offensive."'

Any country that is on the charming end of a Chinese trade mission should do well to remember this: China gives with one hand and takes with the other, although the latter might be hidden from sight.

That China not always plays by the rules the West expects it to adhere to should not come as a surprise. George Grant wrote a column in the Telegraph detailing the Middle Kingdom's many rather insidious dealings 'round the world, including arms trading with countries like Zimbabwe and Sudan, not places particularly famous for their peaceful and human-rights-upholding practices. But if China's involvement in the Renault espionage case can be proven it would be a new low for China. Never before has there been any concrete evidence that it is engaging in what is usually considered unfriendly behaviour in the relations between states and a reason for the swift suspension of diplomatic intercourse.

China is still - or should that be already - too powerful for any Western country to take such steps but this espionage matter would certainly open the eyes of many government officials in the West to the true nature of the Dragon. And it should lead us to be wary of China and to not only see the piles of money but to remember the old Shakespearian (from the Merchant of Venice) line: 'all that glisters is not gold.'