What about the USA side that started the trade war? Did the USA farmers found themselves pushed to the wall, needing Government subsidies? For how long? How many farms have filed for bankruptcy? The USA even had to try to sneak soya bean shipments, using fake Brazilian certificate of origin, to get into China and were caught. What about USA ICE vehicle manufacturers? Are they enjoying themselves after forcing the Dutch doggie pirates to seize Nexperia? Now the Dutch do not know what to do with the Nexperia shell, sending feelers about giving it back to China, which I believe China is no more interested. After all, did not the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Vincent Karremans, boasted that he will do it again? He thinks that the Chinese are foolish enough to get caught a second time.
Chinese Vice Premier, He Lifeng, now at the World Economic Forum in Davos, admitted to the audience about China's trade surplus of US$1.2 trillion, saying that it was not China's objective to aim for gigantic trade surpluses, but achieved them naturally because China was able to sell more to others, while some countries and doggies, that they controlled, were forbidden to sell to China products that China wanted, which could have brought down the trade imbalance. Who created that scenario, and who is now resorting to blaming others for their own foot shooting policies and practices?
Anonymous
I am a pessimist and looking at the events unfolding, the visit of Canadian PM and South Korean President to China and the agreements forged, I am a little hesitant to take these as long term co-operation cast in stone. Rather, China must be very careful not to be blindsided when Trump is no longer in office, and another USA President takes over.
ReplyDeleteThere are already comments on some social media sites that Canadian PM Carney is not as transparent a person to trust totally. After all, he is as White in skin color and as Anglo-Saxon as any Hillbilly. What is going to matter is if the next USA President takes over and decides to unravel the rivalry now ongoing between the USA and Canada. What then is Canada going to do and what is in it for China? China has already experienced the backstabbing by Trudeau over Meng Wenzhou earlier, and there is no guarantee that this is not going to happen again when relations between USA and Canada normalize.
Canada is probably using China as a pressure releasing valve today, and what is going to happen when pressure eases from the USA is unknown. Therefore, amid the jubilation of closer relations between China and Canada, some sense of caution and proportion must be exercised.
Now, I also read a social media expose of a survey about which are the countries that sees China unfavorably and invariably as a threat. One would expect the top two countries to be Japan and the Philippines that have much to dislike China. Yet the surprising revelation was that Ukraine and South Korea topped the survey.
Ukraine's dislike of China stems from the fact that China supported Russia, did not rein in Russia and failed to support NATO. I have no arguments about Ukraine having this mindset.
South Korea's stance surprised me. South Korea's dislike of China is more of being jealousy induced, with China now overwhelming the South Koreans in shipbuilding, EVs, some sectors of lower end smartphones, electronics such as TVs and also the relations between China and North Korea. The fact that China fought on the side of the North during the Korean War is also a mental block in the minds of the South Koreans. Therefore, China must temper its relations with South Korea not completely open-ended but must be done with caution and in measured steps.
The European economies are collapsing by their stupid wars against Russia and following Trump to sanction China. Everyone is watching who will cave in first.
ReplyDeleteCarney's move is deadly to the Europeans by allowing EVs and Chinese investments into Canada. All the European countries are desperate for Chinese investments ie money, and also EVs and 5G tech. When Canada made the first move, now everyone is rushing to China for fear of missing the boat. Even the most devious Brits are running to China for investments and EVs. Chinese EV factories are all they are clamouring for, technology, profits and more jobs.
China will only choose a few countries for such investments, not all European countries. Those left out will be out in the cold. The first movers will take all the goodies.
If I were a Chinese investor, the UK will be the last place to plant my foot. It is the most wicked country, a member of the Axis of Evil, small- minded people not happy about returning Hong Kong to China after 1997 and attempting to collapse the Hong Kong economy right after 1997 to shame China.
ReplyDeleteLest I forget, Scott Bessant, working under George Soros then, was the perpetrator who got burnt in the process of destabilizing Hong Kong, left the Soros outfit, started his own hedge fund and lost his pants as well. Oops, US$5 billion probably went missing into someone's black hole actually. Now, hardly able to keep his pants on trying to stabilize the US economy. That he is able to lie almost with a crying face wrought with pain, lying to Congress, lying to USA citizens over tariffs, and actually still surviving, must be given some credit albeit not justifiably.