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Rightways: Chinese President Xi Jinping
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Point man: Asean has designated Manila its
‘leader’ in dealings with China, but can the moody Duterte, here shown
bonding with Xi on a visit to Beijing in 2016, clinch a an agreement
from China for the regional association? — AP
NOW that the quartet of Asean-related summits is over for the year, so should the niggling criticisms. At least they should – more important matters are at hand.
Over the week Singapore hosted the 2nd RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) Summit, the 13th East Asia Summit, the 21st Asean Plus Three Summit, and – not least – the 33rd Asean Summit.
These summits were held because it was time they were, and Singapore hosted them because it was its turn. But criticisms were not far behind.
US President Donald Trump was a no-show, and so was Chinese President Xi Jinping. Vice-President Mike Pence and Prime Minister Li Keqiang attended instead.
Trump was criticised for his absence, which allegedly “left the region wide open” for Xi’s China to make further inroads here. That complaint was limited only by Xi’s own absence.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was also criticised for not attending an “informal breakfast summit” between Asean and Australian leaders.
His said it was only an informal event, and it was over breakfast which he did not eat.
A casual observer may be forgiven for sensing that there must be more important developments than these scheduled rounds of handshakes and photo opportunities. There are.
One of these begins in two days: Xi’s state visit to the Philippines, following the scheduled 30th Apec Summit in Papua New Guinea.
Duterte had made three visits to China as President, inviting Xi to visit Manila each time. This will be Xi’s first state visit, coming upon the third invitation to him.
There will be handshakes and photo opportunities too, but the substance and symbolism now may be more than the recent multiple summits in Singapore and Papua New Guinea.
The Philippines has been vocal about rival claims to territory in the South China Sea. The previous The region is generally unsettled by China’s recent occupation and construction of islands, with Vietnam remaining most disturbed. Duterte’s critics have also blamed him for being soft on Beijing.
However, Xi’s visit is expected to be smooth with an emphasis on the positives. These include mutual interests deemed to be larger than interminable disputes over distant rocks and islets.
Last year Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang visited Manila for four days amid more audible protests over territory such as Benham Rise. Yet the visit proceeded unhindered.
This time it is President Xi himself, for a state visit of only two days, with no particular complaint against China outstanding. It will also be after one full year of China having become the Philippines’ main trading partner.
For both sides the focus will be quite intense on specific projects backed by Chinese assistance. Duterte left the merrymaking in Papua New Guinea early to return home to prepare for Xi’s arrival.
For China, it would demonstrate to the region how it can cooperate with even a country locked in dispute with it to mutual benefit. This gains added significance when it is the Philippines, historically a US ally.
For the Philippines, there is a host of projects and programmes on Duterte’s wish list requiring Chinese aid. They span his ambitious 9-trillion peso (RM717bil) “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure plan covering all three regions of the Philippines: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
These come under the Six-Year Development Program (SYDP) signed last year with China as a framework for the Philippines’ “Golden Age of Infrastructure.” It is to be Duterte’s legacy for his country.
The 75 projects include a water pump and irrigation scheme, a dam, a north-south railway, a highway, bridges, a park and a rehabilitated power plant. Economic growth is projected to outpace debt.
Duterte is clear-minded enough to know that only China is able and willing to provide the assistance needed. No other country or combination of countries is in a position to do so.
There are also plans for more Chinese business investments, as well as a framework agreement for joint oil and gas explorations at sea. The latter are understood to cover some disputed areas, with China agreeing to only a 40% share of recoverable deposits.
Countries in dispute over territory and the reserves found therein tend to shy from joint exploration, as legally this may imply recognition of the other disputing party’s claim.
But since this condition applies equally to both parties, the Philippines may be confident that China would also be obliged to acknowledge the Philippine claim. Can there be a lesson here for other Asean countries with claims to the South China Sea?
To ensure the success of Xi’s visit, there had been a positive build-up of Philippines-China relations in recent months. Xi’s state visit in turn is envisaged to lead to even better bilateral relations.
Last August, joint simulated naval exercises were held in Singapore among Asean countries and China without US participation. Manila defended that decision by saying that the “tabletop” drill was meant only for neighbouring countries in the region.
Now as Xi prepares for his visit, the US Pacific Fleet is reportedly readying a series of naval operations as a “show of force” in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits. In response to China’s stated concern, the Philippines said it will have no part in those operations.Xi’s visit is important not just for the Philippines but also Asean, which had designated Manila the “point man” in dealings with China. Can Duterte clinch an agreement from China for Asean?
Manila had said that a legally binding Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea was on the agenda, but Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said it may take another three years.
If China really wants to prove its goodwill in Manila, Xi could suggest it may happen considerably sooner.
The last Chinese President to make a state visit to the Philippines was Hu Jintao in 2005. That occasion also marked the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations, which is as auspicious a time as any.
This Tuesday’s visit by Xi will be the first Chinese state visit in 13 years. That is an auspicious number in Chinese, but not so in Western culture.
Will it be auspicious for the Philippines, the only Christian-majority country in the region once colonised by Spain and then the US? Duterte’s original style of leadership may yet make the difference.
Good reason for China's rising popularity in South Pacific
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with leaders of eight Pacific island countries and officials in the Papua New Guinea (PNG) capital on Friday and all agreed to elevate their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership based on mutual respect and common development.
On Friday, Xi also attended the hand-over ceremony of the China-assisted Independence Boulevard, as well as an opening ceremony for the Butuka Academy, a public service project funded by China. This is seen as evidence of the enhanced cooperation between China and Pacific island nations.
The US and Australia have mixed feelings about the cooperation between China and Pacific island countries. Their anxieties stem from their long-standing view of geopolitics. Australia has announced a plan to increase investment to Pacific island nations, while the US is also setting up a fund to boost aid in the region to counter China's perceived influence.
Interestingly, China has entered the Pacific island region with nothing but technology, funds and its friendly willingness to cooperate. Although the region has been regarded as being under Australia's influence, it was half-abandoned by Canberra. Western countries have become used to poverty in the islands. Now China has come to improve infrastructure, which has not only stimulated regional economies, but also caused the region to reclaim the attention of Western countries, such as Australia and the US.
Pacific Island countries certainly have every reason to welcome China because China's cooperation has revitalized the region. China's aid is pragmatic, and not subject to any political conditions. It benefits those countries, without causing harm.
Some have made the analogy that just like some member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) want to see a balance between the US and China in the region, Pacific nations also expect China to weigh in to counter the influence of Australia. However, what makes this case different is that China brings engineering equipment to the Pacific, while in contrast, the US sends warships to the South China Sea. Pacific island countries hope to see more Chinese equipment, but ASEAN is calling on the US to stop its sabre rattling. On Friday, Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told the US that it does not wish to see warships in ASEAN waters, but that small patrol boats are fine.
Geopolitics still exist in today's international arena, but it must not be the dominant issue. It is understandable that Australia and the US have doubts about China's cooperation with Pacific Island countries. However, everyone should refrain from the "geopolitical reverie," and fully respect the growing influence of international economics.
China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has gradually formed a tie among some Pacific Island nations, and it is based on economy to economy. If we were to summarize its political significance, it has built up friendships and increased mutual trust among countries. It also highlights new relations between nations in the region.
More than ever before, there has been unprecedented competition in the South Pacific, and more and more funding has been channeled into the region. Pacific Island countries have never enjoyed so many options and for those countries, such competition is a good thing.
On the international stage, competitions introduced by the BRI are always positive. From the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean, such benign competitions are indeed a phenomenon that has not seen before. Although some countries have made inappropriate comments regarding the BRI, they are using funds and technology to participate in the competitive process.
China has been implementing the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration under the BRI. The "zero sum" struggle has recurred throughout Western history, which shows that China's firm pursuit of mutual benefit and win-win requires time.
China is confident and patient about reaching more consensus, but what is important is that Western society must also emancipate their minds of the 21st century international relations and break free from the shackles of the "zero sum" struggle and various historical memories.
There are six countries in the Pacific that have so-called "diplomatic" relations with Taiwan. Economic cooperation between Beijing and Pacific island nations that have established diplomatic relations with Beijing may change the mindset of Taiwan's allies in the region. Taiwan shall find nobody to blame for the change of the political landscape. As a proverb says, it is common that "man struggles upwards, and water flows downwards."
Australia and New Zealand are China's largest partners in the South Pacific region. There is no reason for China and the two countries to get into a duel in the region. Instead, the South Pacific should become a platform where new types of international relations are forged and tested.- Global Times
The first ever China International Import Expo (CIIE) kicks off in Shanghai today. President Xi Jinping attends the opening ceremony and delivers a keynote speech at the ceremony.
The China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's first import-themed national expo, kicks off on Monday. More than 3,000 enterprises from some 130 countries and regions will exhibit their products, taking this as a premier opportunity to enter or expand their presence on the Chinese market.
But there are still fault-finding reports about the event. Some say sarcastically that no state leader or government head from the G7 will attend the expo. Some even link the CIIE with the China-US trade war in spite of the fact that China announced the CIIE in May 2017 at the Belt and Road Initiative on International Cooperation, before the trade war hadn't started.
Why do these media always want to dig out some political ends from the CIIE, which is in any way a good thing for global trade as well as the exports of Western countries?
CIIE is being held to serve enterprises and exporters worldwide, not Western leaders. Japan ranks first in terms of the number of participating companies, followed by South Korea, the US, Australia, Germany and Italy. This fully demonstrates how much passion companies from developed countries hold toward the expo and heralds the expo's success.
If more countries and regions with a trade surplus can host import expos, that will promote global trade balance. Those with a trade deficit should not blame others, but encourage their enterprises to grasp every opportunity to promote their products. Sometimes the problem lies in information asymmetry and an import expo can provide a platform for suppliers and buyers to communicate at a low cost.
China has long had a trade surplus and too much of it is not helpful for the country. More imports of high-quality products can help Chinese to upgrade their consumption and advance the production. The inherent drive for hosting CIIE is to translate part of China's foreign exchange reserve into social progress.
China started very early by holding trade fairs in Guangzhou and later became a leading exporter in the world. Now we are holding the import expo in the hope of promoting our imports.
Tangled in a trade war with the US, China could have shut US companies out of the expo as a way of pressuring, but it has acted the other way around. By contrast, the US now thinks everything about the Chinese economy is wrong and whatever China does is a trick. The two countries differ in their visions.
We believe that the CIIE, if held regularly, will help China enhance the quality of its imports and balance its imports and exports. China doesn't need to care what the outside world thinks of the expo, nor should it intentionally enhance the volume of transactions as a proof of kindness.
As long as the Chinese market grows larger, CIIE will attract more attention and will be remembered in world trade history as a positive event.
Countries, businesses look forward to CIIE
As the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) nears, officials and entrepreneurs around the world aim to seize the opportunity to explore the Chinese market, voicing greater confidence in China's further opening up.
"We understand the CIIE as ... showcasing China's greater openness to importers. These are all moves in the right direction," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. "We support what China is doing to expand imports and address global trade imbalances."
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite told Xinhua that "the expo is a 'win-win' event for both, China and the world, as it provides new opportunities for cooperation, helps companies across the globe enter the Chinese market and paves the way for China to satisfy its growing demand for high-quality products."
Pakistan is confronted with current account deficit and the CIIE "is a great opportunity for Pakistan to have a pavilion where we will be exhibiting our exports," Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said.
Khan hailed China's reform and opening up policy which provides Chinese industries a better environment to compete in international trade. "China has set a good example," he said.
Madagascar will showcase products such as vanilla, cocoa beans, coffee beans and minerals at the CIIE. China offers a great opportunity for everyone, and everyone must know how to seize this opportunity, Minister of Tourism Jean Brunelle Razafintsiandraofa told Xinhua.
"Australia thinks it (the CIIE) is a great celebration of ... the economic contribution that China makes to the region and the world. That is why we're delighted that some 180 Australian businesses and brands are participating," said Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham.
"We are in global markets, we are all together and we want to cooperate," Israeli Scientific Minister Ofir Akunis said, adding that it is a "very good idea" and the "right way" that China hosts the CIIE where people from all over the world will meet meet on cooperation in the future.
"I think (the CIIE) is a great opportunity to show the players in the global economic environment the opening of China to world trade, and it is also a contribution to the growth of the global market," Marco Tronchetti Provera, CEO of Italian-Chinese tyre maker Pirelli, told Xinhua.
The CIIE, a significant move by the Chinese government to further open the Chinese market, has attracted about 2,800 exhibitors from over 130 countries and regions. Economic and trade exchanges are bringing more benefits to all sides.
"We are going to Shanghai to represent more than 89 of our members who are able to export a range of products (to China)," Sandile Ndlovu, Executive Director of the South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Export Council, said. "China could be one of our biggest customers as there is so much potential for trade with China."
Marathon Ginseng, a U.S. Wisconsin-based ginseng grower, will have a stall at the CIIE. It registered for the expo the first time it heard of the fair.
"It is a big event in China," Jiang Mingtao, founder of Marathon Ginseng, told Xinhua. "We hope to enhance the reputation of ginseng produced in the state of Wisconsin ... and let more Chinese consumers know our products - Global Times
JUST 11 weeks into his election victory, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan has already had to accomplish a task that seriously tests his diplomatic skills.
More than that, it is a task that would tax his diplomatic creativity. And that is in addition to the dire economic challenges he already faces at home.
Confronted with multiple needs and demands, it has taken some time for the new Government to form a Cabinet. Pakistan’s economy has taken some beating. Imran’s opposition party won the August election on a tide of change, against an incumbent party in government whose leaders had been charged with corruption.
Worse, the novice Prime Minister also has to contend with unfavourable terms that the previous government had agreed to with China in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects.
Imran is in Beijing this weekend to try to negotiate those terms.
One theme Imran’s delegation may be pursuing is explaining to Beijing the plight currently facing Pakistan: in its dire economic straits, Islamabad has to choose between negotiating terms with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or renegotiating terms with China.
Neither option is ideal by any means. Going with the IMF may even be a worse debt trap than China has ever been accused of fostering. The fact that Imran is in Beijing shows that the lesser evil may be to renegotiate the BRI terms, such as reducing the costs to Pakistan by a couple of billion US dollars.
If Pakistan opts to go with China, it would prove that any conceivable terms with the IMF would be more onerous and risky. Both the new Finance Ministry and Imran’s task force are leaning that way.
Alternatively the BRI projects could be deferred, but would China agree? Much of that remains to be seen, or heard, in the following days. For now, it is important to remember that such situations are prone to misinterpretation and misrepresentation – including of the deliberate kind.
Predictably, the largely Western international media have already portrayed Pakistan as “saying no” to the China-led BRI.
But why would Pakistan ever do that? The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a vital segment – indeed, the flagship – of the BRI is of far greater value and importance to Pakistan than to China.
Whatever strategic or symbolic significance the US$62 bil (RM258bil) CPEC may have or be said to have for China, it is dwarfed by the immediate and tangible benefits for Pakistan’s development.
It is situated fully and squarely in Pakistan, not China, covering much of Pakistani territory and set to boost such sectors as energy, telecommunications, tourism, trade and transportation. Pakistan’s Railways Ministry calls CPEC the “backbone” of the country.
Its strategic value to China is access to the Arabian Sea at the corridor’s south-western corner in the port of Gwadar. It is access that China does not need now, and may or may not need sometime in the future. China is comfortable investing heavily in Pakistan’s development because the two countries have a special relationship in South Asia. Western observers who still consider Pakistan a Western ally need to have their perspective of Asia updated. Casting Islamabad as a US ally is merely harking back to the 1950s era of the US-led South-East Asia Treaty Organisation (Seato) in the early phase of the Cold War.
Times have moved on, as have China and Pakistan. Their leaders have repeatedly declared their respective countries “all-weather friends” – perhaps even allies.
To India, China and Pakistan have no common border, their link being only Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The territory is bitterly disputed with India following the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement.
Controversy with India flared again two days ago when a bus service was launched linking Lahore with Kashghar in Xinjiang, with the route running through contested PoK.
The term “debt trap” in reference to allegedly risky China-led projects was not coined by China, Pakistan or even Sri Lanka. It was coined by an Indian economist.
If any doubt still lingers over the China-Pakistan relationship, BRI cooperation continues between them and may even expand. Both countries are now seeking to extend CPEC into Afghanistan.
On a stellar scale, China helped Pakistan launch two satellites this year. By 2020, Pakistan hopes to send its first astronaut into space under China’s space programme.
India’s problem with the BRI is essentially its passage through territory disputed with Pakistan. That has now been conflated with what is said to be “Pakistan’s problem” with the BRI.
Western pundits in particular tend to draw such hasty and hazy conclusions since they accord with preconceived US notions of a rising China threat. Such misperceptions are not only wrong but misleading.
Asian countries have a different perspective because a rising China as Asia’s main economy also means a rising Asia. It is the proverbial rising tide that lifts all boats in this region of the continent.
Even the classic anecdotal “debt trap,” Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port, was never quite the disaster its detractors claimed it to be. That controversy was built up principally between Sri Lanka’s contending political parties and their different positions on China at the time.
Now that Mahinda Rajapaksa – prime mover of the Hambantota project and defeated in the 2015 presidential race – has returned as Prime Minister nine days ago, punditry should be buzzing.
The point, however, is to arrive at reasoned analysis away from wild speculation. China is a rational player whatever the objective may be, so that a rational approach can only help understanding.
For its part, China should also empathise with its BRI partners in the conditions they find themselves in. Financially strapped and economically challenged, nations that wish to work with the BRI are constrained by factors beyond their control.
First, these countries may have new governments that have inherited a broken economy from their predecessors. Much urgent repair work first needs to be done. Second, BRI projects are largely about massive infrastructure, usually the most expensive public projects to be undertaken by any government. Third, much of the BRI runs through developing countries and regions that may not have the largest financial resources even at the best of times.
How will Pakistan’s appeal to China for revised terms hold out? Prime Minister Imran Khan should be able to win some concessions.
After all, China has helped other Asian countries before in times of need, even at some expense to itself. When the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis struck, China postponed its scheduled currency revaluation to absorb some of the cost so that the afflicted countries do not go under from excessive loan repayments. Such a generous gesture from Beijing would not be out of character, whether the beneficiary is Pakistan or Malaysia.
After all, each boasts a special relationship with Beijing.
Wow! China's most impressive Guard of Honour for Tun Mahathier
https://youtu.be/-_UD5W1KKEQ
TUN Dr Mahathir Mohamad has appealed to China for its understanding on Malaysia’s fiscal woes, as uncertainty hovers over the China-backed infrastructure projects back home.
The Prime Minister, who is on a five-day visit to China, also hoped Beijing could lend a helping hand to solve the problems plaguing Putrajaya.
“We hope to get China to understand the problem faced by Malaysia today and believe it would look sympathetically towards the problem we need to resolve.
“And perhaps help us resolve some of our internal fiscal problems,” he said.
Dr Mahathir was speaking at a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People here yesterday, following the official welcoming ceremony and a closed-door meeting.
While Dr Mahathir had stopped short of specifying the problem, the Pakatan Harapan government had said that the country’s debt is now above RM1 trillion.
The new administration was also critical of the “lopsided” deals with China and moved to suspend projects with Chinese investment, such as the East Coast Rail Link, the Multi-Product Pipeline and the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline.
During this visit, Dr Mahathir had stressed that Malaysia was not against any Chinese firms and that he welcomed Chinese businessmen to invest in Malaysia.
At the press conference, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia had much to gain from China and believes that Chinese investment could bring down the unemployment rate in the country.
“Malaysia has a policy of being friendly to every country in the world irrespective of its ideology. This is because we need to have a market for our produce,” he said while expressing hope that Malaysia would become a South-East Asian hub for new technology being developed in China.
“China has great entrepreneurs with innovative ideas in doing business that Malaysians can learn from.
“China has got a lot that will be beneficial to us. It is a big and rich market created by very dynamic people,” he said.
Asked about his views on the trade war between China and the United States, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia would support free and fair trade.
He said he did not want to see this trade war becoming a new form of colonialism.
Dr Mahathir’s trip, which ends today, is his first official visit to China since his return to helm the country.
Ministers joining him on the trip are Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok, International Trade and Industry Minister Ignatius Darell Leiking, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong and Entrepreneurial Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir also had a closed-door meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday evening at the Diaoyutai State Guest House.
Accompanied by his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, he later attended a dinner hosted by Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan.
Bernama reported that Dr Mahathir gave the assurance to Xi that there would be no changes in policy towards under the new Malaysian government.
He told Xi that he was impressed with the level of development achieved by China.
“We see China as a model for development,” he said.
Chinese
President Xi Jinping met with visiting Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Monday,
with the two leaders vowing to continue to push forward bilateral ties
and deepen cooperation.
