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.'

Cameron Should take a Stand for Freedom

China is acting like a bully in a playground. Ever since the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiabao has the communist Middle Kingdom been telling off every human-rights-respecting country in the world for applauding - or at least not criticising - the decision. Some countries, like France, have decided to refrain from mentioning the award in their dealings with China and have been rewarded for their silence with lucrative commercial contracts. Fearful as they are of losing the friendship and goodwill of the economic Dragon of the Orient, these countries look the other way when it comes to upholding their own human-rights standards. They take at full face value the threat uttered by Cui Tiankai, a high ranking Chinese diplomat (quoted in the Telegraph):

“The choice before some European countries and others is clear and simple: do they want to be part of the political game to challenge China’s judicial system or do they want to develop a true friendly relationship with the Chinese government and people?” He added: “If they make the wrong choice, they will have to bear the consequences”.

With David Cameron about to head to China for talks with President Hu Jintao, it is now the turn of the United Kingdom to decide on the importance of human rights and liberty for its relation with other states. Will Britain speak up for the values it professes to hold dear, or will economic opportunity force its acquiescence to the unknown horrors of the jail cell, the anguished tears of the torture chamber and the terrible silence of the execution ground?

As far as I'm concerned Mr. Cameron has no choice but to take a stand for freedom and raise China's human rights record when he meets Mr Hu. I have little hope that it will have any effects on China's actions - I am realist enough for that - but at least it will show the Chinese leadership that there are limits to the reach of their economic power. It will show them that not every country will meekly submit to their coarse demands for silence. Mr Cameron now has the chance to show true leadership and raise the standard of liberty that West says it defends and upholds. He should not merely follow in the lock-stepped footfalls of all the Presidents and Prime Ministers who held their tongues in the hope of not offending the jailers that rule in Beijing.

PS. Just as I was about to post this I saw on the BBC News website that Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist responsible for the beautiful 100 Million Sunflower Seeds display in the Tate Modern, has been placed under house arrest for the simple act of wanting to celebrate the impending demolition of his Shanghai studio.