Suddenly there is a flurry of news items that China is showing its displeasure with New Zealand through surreptitious pullbacks in relations.
New Zealand was a pioneer in engaging with China on trade, being one of the first Western nations to sign a free trade agreement. A number of other 'firsts' have followed.
But the China under authoritarian Xi is a different country to when those pioneering agreements were made. And we also have a new democratic administration assessing policy decisions.
Clearly, Wellington doesn't want to take sides between superpowers. It just wants to trade.
But both the US and China will only grant trade access to their economies with political strings attached. We won't like that, but it is the world be now must navigate.
Hard, choices are being thrust on us.
We are economically small - a rounding error for trade considerations in Beijing and Washington - but we have pushed our chest out in the world political arena. And we have a UN vote, something that does motivate the superpowers.
Trade is our Achilles heel in all of this.
Here is what we have 'at risk'.
| New Zealand | 2017 | 2018 | growth | |
| $ bln | $ bln | % | ||
| Goods export trade to China | NZ$12.1 | NZ$13.9 | +14.9 | |
| - share of all NZ goods exports | 22.6% | 24.2% | ||
| Services export trade to China | NZ$3.0 | NZ$3.4 | +12.0 | |
| - share of all NZ services exports | 13.0% | 13.6% | ||
| Australia | ||||
| Goods export trade to China | AU$99.6 | AU$117.5 | +18.0 | |
| - share of all AU goods exports | 33.0% | 34.0% | ||
| Services export trade to China | AU$12.0 | AU$13.1 | +9.3 | |
| - share of all AU services exports | 14.0% | 14.0% |
New Zealand and Australia are part of a growing group of Western countries that have become sceptical of China's ambitions and the authoritarian nature of how it seeks to control both its diaspora and the way others think about it. Part of that scepticism is reflected in the reach and risks of technology giant Huawei. But this is just the tip of an iceberg of concerns. How Beijing deals with us could provide clues for how it may push back elsewhere. We may be being seen as an easy test case, one where China risks little from aggressive trial actions. Market research testing if you like, for a more broader strategy to how to push their agenda forward in the West.
And the hard truth is that no other country stands ready to buy what we have to sell China if we decide we don't want to buy what China thinks is good for us (Huawei's 5G, for example). The new US Administration has suddenly shown a willingness to throw its friends under a bus, any bus. So they are not a viable option.
Buckle in for a rocky ride. We will need broad bipartisan support to stand up for our beliefs.
151 Comments
I agree. New Zealand needs to make a stand on this, though. And own what route they go with.
This, like the calling in of debt in Africa and the Pacific is definitely a test case for the Chinese and their grand colonisation scheme.
It is also a test case for New Zealand as to whether we will stand by our morals and and reaffirm our sovereignty or capitulate on economic grounds.
I would like to think that we wouldn't go down the Rainbow Warrior track again, but I have extreme doubts. At the end of the day, I'm convinced we won't bite the hand that feeds us and willfully ignore the really crap things that the Chinese ruling party actively enforce.
Nymad and PDK agree in this instance - Lange dropped the moral ball and if we don't have morals, I'm not sure what have left.
There are lots of hungry people in the world and lots of potential tourists (although carbon-free ones are few and far-between.
But we have been an overpopulated planet since well before Will Catton wrote 'Overshoot' (which I advise everyone to download and read - it's sobering considering it was written 40 years ago). This is probably the posturing before the inevitable fight over what's left. Count ourselves lucky to have lived through the high-point of human ease - it is quite possible that no future generation will attain these heights.
Talking of commando tactics
https://youtu.be/Yo5eL0_FAyg
China hires through intermediaries of course old kiwi cop & an old Aussie commando to exert “friendly pressure” There’s no legal validation provided to the claims which just proves if there’s a $ in it you can buy anyone to be a bounty hunter
If you are selling commodities such as meat or milk power then if China changes supplier you have no problem because an equivalent hole will appear in the international market. If China stops all your commodity imports from every country then you have a problem. As you would if you are processing your goods and have packaging in Manadarin. Or you reply on Chinese tourists renting your accommodation.
If govt takes a stand and the Chinese take umbrage and choses to turn your plane / ship of exports round then the govt ought to compensate you for their unreasonable non-tariff barrier.
'commodities are perfectly homogenous' does work for one buyer who dominates the market so long as they keep buying. The problem with soy is USA is a dominat supplier. Note milk exports from the Netherlands and Denmark so we do not dominate any of our markets as a suppplier.
The issue with soy and the USA will be resolved by one years planting; admittedly the life of a cow is longer than a year.
Lapun, you speak like a pure theoretician who has read several books but never actually done any international trade. If China stops buying our exports or sending tourists to NZ, we cannot "just replace them with another country to export our products or attract tourists". It takes a huge amount of time to build relations in the real world, there are many laws from both countries that need amending, MAF in NZ is a great example of how difficult they can make things for NZ exporters, tax implications, terms of payment to be agreed upon etc...
Tourism we agree. They can stop it and we lose out. What I don't understand is why milk powder is sold without there being an international market with futures etc. They have them for Pork and Gold and all manner of products that never reach Europe but are traded in London. Give it a brand name and you have a point - Anchor butter used to sell in England whereas a product called 'NZ butter' would have had to build a customer base.
If we exported iron ore and coal like Australia I would agree with you but we don't.
In my experience if you have a customer who is capricious and difficult then you tend to look for other customers or increase your prices to cover possible disruptions.
These "surreptitious pullbacks in relations" are all so incredibly minor. So minor in fact that I am wondering whether its a figment of the medias' imagination. If China really didn't like its Huawai spyware being banned from NZ or our displeasure at their land grab in the South China Sea etc, it would do something like halve the quota of milk powder. Things of that magnitude.
Labour has Raymond Huo. And the party president, Nigel Haworth. Both have form promoting China's world view to Kiwis. Just like Yang Jian.
Here is the CPC report on Haworth's support at a Beijing political conference:
Professor Nigel Haworth, President of the New Zealand Labour Party said: "Xi is taking a very brave step, trying to lead the world and to think about the global challenges in a cooperative manner, historically we have wars and we have crisis, but he is posing a possibility of a different way based on collaboration and cooperation, making cooperation work is difficult, but he think that's a better way for mankind."
It's a worthy goal, David, and plausible when you discard the Standard 'anti-communist' rhetoric.
But there are too many of us for it to be achieved - there isn't enough planet to go around. Unless he is advocating much less consumption per head... Which kind of makes trade worries irrelevant.
China is showing it true (and normal) colours..bullying, blackmail, arm twisting etc, etc. and yet it tells the world it want to be a "good corporate citizen". It cries foul to what USA is doing re: trade, yet it tries to do worse to NZ...for no good reason. In the USA case at least the USA has probable cause i.e. China steals patents, copywrite, IT propriety software, steal Spratley Island and more.
This is typical China/PLA tactic.
DJI is a Chinese company and you have lost 200 social credit point
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12005158
In the technology business, it is irrelevant where the components are manufactured and in most cases irrelevant where it is assembled as well.
What matters is who owns the intellectual property, People trust Apple as company that shares western values around privacy, and numerous other things as well. So it doesn't matter to most people that they contract the manufacturing of their product to Foxconn.
This ANZAC day goto dawn parade and then your local RSA. Have a beer, ask why and what people died fighting for, I believe it was a free world, not the communist surveillance sate we now know as Chine.
We must never let such a state supply critical infrastructure such as our core backbone internet technology... the Chinese didn't by Cisco for this very reason.
Least we forget.
The trade never comes without strings attached. We're talking about a country that forces airlines to remove the word 'Taiwan' from their websites if they want to keep doing business there. We're never going to get a fair deal in the long run. China uses our 3-year democracy system against us. They lay the trap 10-20 years ahead of us because we're too myopic to see past the next election.
The only thing NZ and China have in common is we both have a Winnie the Pooh in charge.
It also does not help that our current Gubmint crew (with the notable exception of Winston, who is a loose cannon careening around the decks), is full of Good Intentions but woefully short on international Realpolitik outside the student unions of their youth.
Not a winning combination when it's up against a rising superpower well versed at keeping north of a billion souls fed, housed and relatively contented. And when every Gubmint utterance, in the eyes of said superpower, is scrutinised, weighed in the balance, and judged. Consequences then follow for the Good Intentions Paving Co (2017) Ltd...
Why are we surprised that the CCP acts like a lawless authoritarian regime? The world order is in a state of flux in the Indo-Pacific region and we have to decide if we stand true to our principles of a free society or bowed down to the CCP. Yes, there will be short term loses as the "useful idiots" will point out ad nauseum. However with the CCP in charge, "if you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever".
Re China :- Like Donald Trump's administration , the only thing this hapless Government has done successfully is to annoy just about everyone , friends , neighbours , farmers , the business community, coalition partners, trading partners , supporters, employees, service providers and suppliers
Did we? I seem to recall being conquered by the IMF and the World Bank during the 80s...thats about as weaponised American political and economic dogma as you can get, short of being invaded by the US military its the next worse thing. Look who stole all our public assets....told us to liberalise our economy....made our exchange rate a plaything for American merchant bankers....made our government enact grossly onesided social policy that we are now reaping a whirlwind of hurt from. Oh yeah we really stood up...not...we were subdjugated and exploited by a greedy vexacious imperial force.
This is hardly surprising... and you could see it coming as far back as Twyford's racist approach to Auckland home buyers.
The only question is what does Smiley McSmiley face do..... thus far she has planted her head in the sand. She told us she was qualified for the job cos she had chaired a UN Youth meeting.... so lets see those diplomatic skills at play now that NZ exporters livelihood's are on the line.
If she continues to let the NZ-China relationship fester then she will be on the dole queue post the 2020 election.
Right or wrong.. the point I am making is that singling out chinese as the cause of our problems .. which has been further exacerbated by Jacinda's wilful disregard of maintaining the Chinese relationships.. will ultimately be borne by our exporters.
I am not making a comment on Chinese attitudes to trading or condoning them... I am merely asking what is McSmiley Face doing to manage Chinese decisions with a view to protecting our exporters from the fall out.
We look at what we have at risk in trade and economic exposure to China as they ramp up economic and political pressure on us to join its world view on trade and 'friendly relations'
This is called bullying.
More you bend more will be requested till you break.......
May be time to be diplomatic and firm (Winston Peter are you listining) and att he same time look for other friendly countries with democratic values.
Most ppl commenting this section chanting NZ should be aginst evil China and evil communist party are very likely to the ones in their 60s or 70s, who spent most of their childhood and even teenager time during the cold war.
What can I say? These ppl's mind is framed and the way of their thinking is only about zero sum games.
Oh, Come on and give me a break.
We are living in the 21st century full of opportunities and possibilities.
Who would think that Jim Rogers daugthers would be invited by the Central CHina TV to sing in Chinese. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkjVEwzmJnQ).
All I can say is that open up you eyes and mind.
I can assure you that China-NZ's economic tie will be getting even stronger not weaker.
I don't like there human rights record, didn't like the Tiananmen Square massecure either
try googling this in china
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests
I don't trust them to serve us our google results via there 5G infrastructure.......
China was super lucky to have Deng Xiao Ping in1989 and had the courage to stump down the students movements.
I cannot imagine what China would become if those students were let to be.
Massacre??
You probably watched too much BBC sxxx. The number of death and injury at that night was probably even lower than the number of homicide in Chicago, USA during its most 'peaceful' period..
Yes China could have ended up FREE, like the lucky ones that escaped to the Republic of China.
Obviously it wasn't your relatives who were slaughtered like cattle by the Wu Jing in Tianamen.
A shameful act that Deng Xiao Peng will always be remembered for, ranking him right up there with Hitler.
Those "lucky ones that escaped to the Republic of China" had an interesting concept of freedom:
Martial law, declared on Taiwan in May 1949, continued to be in effect after the central government relocated to Taiwan. It was not repealed until 1987, and was used as a way to suppress the political opposition in the intervening years. During the White Terror, as the period is known, 140,000 people were imprisoned or executed for being perceived as anti-KMT or pro-Communist. Many citizens were arrested, tortured, imprisoned and executed for their real or perceived link to the Communists.
Do all countries have a past they would prefer to forget? Is 140k divided by a population of 23m better or worse then 45m (Mao's greap leap forward) divided by 1,386m?
However today the average Han Chinese living in Taiwan has over double the GDP per capita of Han Chinese under communist rule. They also have a mechanism to change their rulers.
xingmowang,
So,these students threatened the entire nation did they? The threat was so great that unarmed young men and women had to be slaughtered,is that what you believe?
Why can’t you google Tianenman Square in China? If NZ is wise,we will make every effort to reduce our economic dependence on China,however painful that is in the short term.
Picture of Tianamen Square: https://i.redd.it/newflzdhh8211.jpg
Meanwhile, formerly top-secret cables from the British ambassador gave a whole lot more detail on how bad it was:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tiananmen-square-massacre…
It also provides horrific detail of the massacre, alleging that wounded female students were bayoneted as they begged for their lives, human remains were “hosed down the drains”, and a mother was shot as she tried to go to the aid of her injured three-year-old daughter.
Sir Alan added: “Students understood they were given one hour to leave square, but after five minutes APCs attacked.
“Students linked arms but were mown down. APCs then ran over the bodies time and time again to make, quote ‘pie’ unquote, and remains collected by bulldozer.
“Remains incinerated and then hosed down drains.”
...
“snipers shot many civilians on balconies, street sweepers etc for target practice”.
“27 Army ordered to spare no one,” he wrote. “Wounded girl students begged for their lives but were bayoneted.
“A three-year-old girl was injured, but her mother was shot as she went to her aid, as were six others.”
...
Sir Alan wrote: “1,000 survivors were told they could escape but were then mown down by specially prepared MG [machine gun] positions.
“Army ambulances who attempted to give aid were shot up, as was a Sino-Japanese hospital ambulance. With medical crew dead, wounded driver attempted to ram attackers but was blown to pieces by anti-tank weapon.”
In another incident, the cable said, the troops even shot one of their own officers.
Sir Alan wrote: “27 Army officer shot dead by own troops, apparently because he faltered. Troops explained they would be shot if they hadn’t shot the officer.”
The official CCP estimate that our stooge above must comply with is 200-300 dead.
xingmowang is right in this case. That's BS propaganda above. Look closely at the picture and you will see people are just keeping their heads down. No crushed bicycles, no obviously dead people, no blood. Compare with photos of the Bataclan massacre in Paris.
I have spoken with students that were actually there and none of them knew anyone who was killed.
The government gave the students several days of warning. On the final day Beijing had many burning vehicles filling the air with smoke. These fires were lit by students and workers that had joined them. The government couldn't afford it to go on any longer and had repeatedly asked the students to disperse.
I can assure you that no Western government would have tolerated it. Compare Waco.
For goodness sake, Zachary. You should know better than that, just because one image shows people cowering.
I'm pretty surprised you're buying that. It is very easy to find far more graphic documentation of the Tianamen Square massacre. I can post more (and far more graphic) sources but I'm not sure if that's okay with Ed. (Alternatively, provide a burner or real email address and I'll email you from another burner email address.)
You should also check this out: https://vimeo.com/44078865
Waco? Waco is regarded as an abhorrent failure in the USA and in fact drove a whole new approach to negotiations in the FBI. You're comparing something regarded as a terrible and tragic failure in the USA, with something regarded as as successful result in China. That's ridiculous.
Note the US source corroborating the earlier confidential British cable:
In 2014, however, it was reported that a confidential US government file quoted a Chinese military source as saying the Communist regime’s own internal assessment believed 10,454 people had been killed – a figure that would fit Sir Alan’s initial estimate.
So we have multiple foreign sources and witnesses at the time, a good amount of documentary evidence, local accounts etc. - but instead take the word of a dictatorial government that can do no wrong?
You're pretty naive Rick. You probably still believe the Russians got Trump elected.
I have had discussions with people who were actually at Tiananmen as student protesters. There were casualties, on both sides, but nothing like what the Western propaganda apparatus claims,
Of course. Fake news, of course. All propaganda. Nothing to see here.
One of us may be naive, but I prefer to evaluate the multiplicity of sources and allow Ockham's Razor to do its job. Look at those people pretending to be hurt. Bloomin' fakers, the lot of them.
There are more pictures available.
I would suggest taking the time to do some research rather than just having had a chat to a few people who agree there's nothing to see here.
I said there were casualties on both sides Rick. In one picture you see a burnt out APC. A bit of a battle occurred with hard core members of the student movement and workers. People encouraged by the US. What I am disputing is the "thousands" wantonly killed rumour.
I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve really. We know the US tried to cause a counter revolution in China. It failed and almost no one in China currently would appreciate you coming to the defence of the students now. 99% of Chinese at home and abroad have the same opinion as xingmowang.
China has a long history of troublesome youth movements like the Red Guards and the Boxers.
Many Chinese people speak English. Western governments would suppress an insurrection with force if military units sent in to disperse protesters after several days warning were met with violent resistance. Especially if military equipment was destroyed, personnel killed or injured. It is you living in a fantasy land if you don't believe that.
China's record on human rights is atrocious. Their abuses are many including organ harvesting political dissidents, woman's rights, and freedom of religion. See the world report for a flavour of how awful the regime is there https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/china-and-tibet.
Not to mention their belt and road project designed to invade the Pacific as a stage for a future war.
China can keep it's trade, it's facial recognition and social credit system of oppressive government. I'd be happy to take a downturn on imports, and look for other creative ways of exporting our commodities in the long term if it means we avoid turning NZ into a surveillance state run banana republic. A place where comments like this would earn me and my family a trip to the liquidation factory.
the british are joining them soon so where will NZ stand?
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/02/12/1893101/uk-deploy-flagshi…
Most ppl commenting this section chanting NZ should be aginst evil China and evil communist party are very likely to the ones in their 60s or 70s, who spent most of their childhood and even teenager time during the cold war.
Wrong. I'm a millennial. Chinas economic cooperation comes with strings attached - it was the naive baby boomers who thought a communist dictatorship could really change its stripes.
It was looking better for a while a few years ago. Now they have a president for life; a dubious social credit system, a million Muslims in concentration camps receiving re-education; repression of Tibetans, Falun Gong and Christians, the head of Interpol has disappearred, organ harvesting has been proved, etc.
China has changed and our govt needs to think carefully how we should respond.
and lets not forget about the occupation of Tibet
https://www.freetibet.org/about
China invaded Tibet in 1950. Inside its borders and across the world, Tibetans have never stopped believing Tibet is a nation.
After more than 60 years of occupation, Tibetans still resist China's rule and defy its oppression.
and lets not forget when they tried to stop our MP's protesting in NZ
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3530487
Andy - it wasn't us who forced farmers to mortgage to the hilt purchasing land left right and centre. These clever boys and girls made that decision themselves, albeit conned by the National Parties incredibly misguided plan to double primary exports by 2025 with the associated nudge nudge, wink wink promise to assist with taxpayers money for irrigation schemes and to ignore what was happening to the environment.
When the Federated Farmers president Conor English said that we were wasting water by letting any flow out to the sea I knew that the cockies had some how avoided the darwinian process going on elsewhere.
We should be only too happy to allow Huawei to build Sparks new 5G network. If we don't we will pay the considerable costs associated.
China has been moving up the value chain - and now they are the equal of the best in some areas.
Spark are quite capable of making that decision if that's best for them and their customers.
Five Eyes are pissed for the simple reason that it is my guess they already have trapdoors in all existing US manufactured processors - of which there are very few.
Concerned they will lose that capability.
You should do some research on 5G, its a dog and will never fly in places other than very high density cities. Its never going to be rolled out nationwide.It is very short range and line of sight. I really wouldn't be getting to excited about it personally and 4G is fast enough if they built a decent network.
Chinese tanks in Aotea Square perhaps? The Japanese, French and Americans all used to play games like this in the 80s and 90s when we were desperately scratching around for anyone to trade with after Britain kicked us out of the house when it joined the EEC. The Russians took all our butter and cheese and never paid us...we took Ladas in payment like some banana republic. 40 years of economic reform...you what? We haven't learned a thing, still low value commodity producer focussed on one market for the bulk of our trade.
We must stand firm on our principles. And this behavior by China has made it a matter of principle, so it is even more important. Fail at this point and we might as well get rid of our government and accept a Chinese appointed administrator. I think that I would be looking for a different country to live in.
As I have being say for years and long before this blew up; we were crazy to expect anything other than this sort of behavior from China at some point. They are after all a totalitarian state with a shocking record of how they treat their own citizens. So what can we expect from them.
We were crazy to ever let ourselves to become so dependent on any one customer, especially one with such a shocking track record as China. I think that we need to be very careful with the USA also.
If I were an exporter I would be desperately looking for other destinations for my product and diverting as much as I can away from China; even if the prices were slightly lower. Who wants their products ruined by being held up in some sort of trade dispute.
May be the rest of the world needs to have a meeting to quickly set up trade arrangements that minimize exports to and imports from China. That way we will have some sort of defense against being individually picked off by this bully. We should hold the USA at arms length in any such arrangement as they are not much better.
Love many, trust few, and always paddle your own canoe.
I agree the way China treats its citizens is unacceptable. We need to diversify our trade as they won't change their attitude and behaviour anytime soon. Even though the US is a rogue state we are well advised to stay under its protection to keep predators away. We don't want to be re-colonized by anybody.
This is the sort of thing that leaves people suspicious of Chinese businesses, no doubt this one, like most has govt involvement https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/02/06/429704/massive-resort-desecrates-…
Yes. Anyone who has bought into China as the 'benign empire benefitting mankind' is either dumb or has vested interest.
It's a horrid regieme that's starting to really show it's true colours. Yes we benefit from them but also them from us. There needs to be middle ground. They've pushed things too far their way.
Has their ever been a regime of any decent size that has been a " benign empire benefiting mankind?" They always seem to benefit their slice of humanity and run roughshod over the other tribes/races until they become too big and collapse/retreat or get beaten back.
depends on which appliance , they are made in china , Thailand, mexico and Italy
and they are only a company they dont much influence apart from political donations.
we have freedom here to choose if we want to buy from any company and our government does not direct us as to who we should support
Haier owns FPA, fully. Is there any true difference between Haier and Huawei? Haier has the party secretary too. Most of their senior leadership are party members too. As we are heading to the IoT era, smart appliances have the ability to capture not the data going through your wifi network but also listen to you conversations, just like smartphones. Why not treating FPA as a security threat too? LOL
The potential for spyware isn't half as bad in a washing machine as in network infrastructure.
If the Chinese govt wants to know whether my washing gets done on Regular, or Eco cycle, lets them have at it. If i'm connecting from my work laptop to a customers production equipment thats a whole new level of risk.
touche. China has a vast array of non-tarriff barriers and uneven application of law that covers just about everything under the sun. They only pretend to play by WTA rules and on a level playing field. EG entirety of China uses very expensive pirated engineering software, that if they paid for it like companies in the west have to would be costing them 100's of billions.
The pending war is already confirmed, read between the lines. This sort of posturing is just preparatory propaganda to mentally adapt the muppet population for the event. Better to tell China to go to hell now rather than later, then we can better prepare rather than live in denial. Not that I want the war, a scary thing when your family could become canon fodder.
" Last year was the first year that China had a current account deficit, i.e. more money going out of China than coming in… They are so desperately short dollars that they need Foreign Direct Investment, portfolio investment, to hold everything together… They’ve got current account deficit and they are running a massive fiscal deficit. So their consolidated fiscal deficit is a little bit north of 10% of GDP, including local government finance vehicles. Think about the US. We’re at a little over 4% of GDP and all the alarm bells are going off and China’s at 10% of GDP. China is starting to look like a traditional EM problem… (The) Chinese banking system is more levered than any banking system has ever been in the world… They’re a twin deficit country with reserves that are dwindling… If you look at how much RMB they’ve printed… since 2009. Realize, they have printed $30 trillion worth of RMB, if you look at Chinese money supply. They’ve printed like it’s a national past-time."
http://thesoundingline.com/kyle-bass-china-is-a-paper-tiger/
Here's the FT reporting on what the China Belting and Road initiative will give to some of the small nations it "helps"
https://www.ft.com/content/c8da1c8a-2a19-11e9-88a4-c32129756dd8
If you can't open, it is a report made 5 days ago on the situation the Maldives finds itself in re loans arranged under the One Belting One Road scheme with demands to redraw rates and amounts owed.
Malaysia is also discussed with Mahathir stating that his country would be impoverished if it proceeded with a $20bn rail scheme arranged with kindly Chinese people by his predecessor. He talks of a new era of "colonialism."
.
China?! How about, Australia, testing us?
"The Australian government is attempting to deport another Indigenous man to New Zealand, despite him having no ties to the country where he was born while his parents were visiting the country more than 30 years ago. Tim Galvin’s mother and three brothers are Australian-born citizens, and his father is a UK-born citizen. His mother has signed a statutory declaration stating she is of Aboriginal descent. Galvin’s wife is a Noongar woman and they have four children together."
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/17/government-attem…
The One Belt One Road (OBOR) is all about $$$ and self-serving interests.There is no charity in there. Comes loaded with onerous terms stacked one-sided.
3M's-Manpower, Machinery, Materials,- will come from one source country. Ask the countries that have fallen into the debt-trap by accepting the seemingly benevolent largesse.
A mailed fist in a velvet gloves.
Li Rui a former confidant of Mao,turned party critic has died in Beijing at the age of 101.
He was imprisoned,exiled and nearly starved to death,wife left him taking 3 kids.
Eventually he was allowed to return to the party and tried to change the party from the inside.
A great obituary on the New York Times website.
UK concludes it can mitigate risk from Huawei equipment use in 5G
Let's make a comparison: Apartheid Era South Africa and Current era China
Human Rights abuses Yes Yes
Capitalist country Yes No
Communist country No Yes
State-run media Partly Yes
Restricted freedom of speech Yes Yes
Restricted travel and living areas Yes Yes
Imprisonment of political figures Yes Yes
Operation of "hit squares" Yes Yes
Copyright and patents infringements No Yes
Theft of proprietary IT Software No Yes
Debt Trap diplomacy No Yes
Bully, blackmail, indoctrination and threats. Partly Yes: totally
Currency manipulation for exports Partly Yes: Totally
In the above comparison SA is better placed than China.
If Apartheid South Africa was black listed, why is NZ and any country even trading with China??
Bring back John Minto!!
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