03-02 The EU

What in the world is China doing building a major bridge in Belgrade, Serbia? Well, it’s about building trade routes. And this is just a peek into what China is investing in Europe.
We are also talking about container terminals, airports, shipbuilding facilities, telecommunications infrastructure, nuclear power plants and whatever. Huawei Technologies, to give one example of Chinese investments, employs 1700 people in Germany.
And, it is not just continental Europe where China is invested. They have a big play developing a business incubation centre called TusPark in Newcastle England. And the key is that all the new ventures created will have marketing links into China.
During my political life in Canada, I can remember how much big business opposed the introduction by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau of what was called the Foreign Investment Review Act or FIRA which was designed to screen and control foreign investment.
Big firms grow by merger and acquisition whereas small firms tend to grow organically. So, screening foreign investment is a big free market political issue.
In Europe, like North America, our free enterprise philosophy tends to encourage investment which leads to trade and tourism. And sure enough, the heavy investment by China in Europe is leading to monster levels of trade and tourism.
But the big issue in dealing with China is recognizing that their large corporations are all instruments of the state.
And comparing the ease with which Chinese firms can enter and operate in Europe, the same is not true for European companies trying to operate in China. China usually insists on partnerships with Chinese companies in which the European technology is shared or even stolen.
Then there is the Belt and Road initiative in which China is investing trillions in transportation infrastructure to link China with Asia and Europe.
But how much control does Europe want China to have over its great ports like Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg or even Le Havre. Is Chinese investment based on Europe’s needs or China’s needs?
The important thing to remember about Europe is that most transportation to and from the area is by the sea. Control the ports and you control Europe. This is most likely the Chinese strategic plan. And the basis for long-term conflict.
I stumbled on an old photo of the Chinese port of Tuojiang. How romantic, but how unlike the China of today which is a super power threatening US influence around the world.
Certainly, they are threatening all the traditional trade and investment links between Europe and America that were established after the second world war.