Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

It’s not China that’s playing ‘divide & rule’  against the West

It’s not China that’s playing ‘divide & rule’ against the West

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that China is seeking to play a “divide and rule” game against western nations. But he seems to miss the point, as it is not Beijing that does this.
“We’ve been competing and China has been from time to time very cleverly playing us off each other in an open-market, competitive way,” the premier told Global News in an interview aired on Saturday.

Acknowledging the economic opportunities China presents, Trudeau then called for a “united front” against it. These are arguably the most provocative comments he has made on the issue yet, despite relations between Ottawa and Beijing having long fallen into a deep chill following the Meng Wanzhou and ‘two Michaels’ controversies.

But there’s one point he’s missing: it is not simply China who is exploiting differences between countries in the west in order to maximize its own individual and strategic gain. The more tacit perpetrator of such behavior, in fact, lies a lot closer to home, and is happy to utilize the conflicts between China and its allies in order to profit for itself in a zero-sum game. Guessed who it is yet?

In the interview, Trudeau was talking about “capitalist democracies,” but he seemingly fails to understand the implications of the first word in practice.

Trudeau is right to recognize that China's immense economic clout is its most hardy strategic asset in coming to terms with the US and its allies. With a population of over 1.4 billion people and a rapidly growing economy, China is an economic bonanza for western countries in that it has provided opportunities on a scale that not only cannot be found at home but anywhere else in the world. Despite recent geopolitical tensions, there is, in theory, a maximum appetite that greater benefits from China’s market should be reaped, albeit on political conditions solely favorable to the West. What he is mistaken about is the fundamental assumption that it is merely Beijing who is using its economic clout to play ‘divide and rule’ across various countries' interests and if it were not doing so, the benefits between western countries would be handily distributed evenly and fairly. Trudeau said that Western countries should “show a united front” against China’s increasingly “coercive diplomacy.” But will that give the West what it wants?

Trudeau might want to question why the United States has recently doubled tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports. Is this the united front he dreams of? Or is it a tactful result of Beijing’s ‘divide and rule’?

In his comments the Canadian prime minister bigged up capitalism but seemed to omit the fundamental reality of what the term means; and that is to pursue private profit through the capitalisation of an opportunity against competitors, not the equal distribution of benefits based on a value sentiment. Canada’s biggest ally, the United States, is motivated by the former, not the latter, and has shown repeatedly that it is willing to profit at the expense of its own partners.

For example, when China stopped buying coal from Australia (due to Canberra pursuing the hostility against Beijing that Washington wanted to see), America took their market share and started exporting to them instead. When France had a deal to sell submarines to Australia, America undercut the deal and replaced it with its own. When the US feared Denmark was going to buy Eurofighter Typhoons, it allegedly weaponized Danish intelligence services to spy on its government.

America aggressively competes against its own “allies” in order to deliver the greatest gains for itself. It seeks obligation from these countries, only to undercut them.

What Trudeau’s blunder is here is that when a ‘united front’ is shown against China, it will only derive more benefits for American interests and none for the allies who suffer on their behalf. Canada itself should already know this. When the US pursued its campaign against Huawei and demanded that Canadian police arrest the company’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who was it who suffered China's retaliation? It was America’s interest in attacking the company, yet it was Ottawa who ultimately paid the price when China detained Canadian nationals Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in retaliation. In this case, why should Canada not seek to put its own interests regarding China first, as opposed to following the foreign-policy preferences of the United States, as it has always done under the name of a superficial solidarity?

There is no united front because that term itself defies the reality of how capitalism works, of which the United States is the foremost and most extreme global proponent. When “allied" countries, on the other hand, attempt to make deals with China that the United States is not a party to, it likewise quickly becomes resentful. For example, Washington ramped up the Xinjiang issue to drive a wedge in China’s relations with Europe apparently because it didn’t like the idea of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) – a trade agreement between China and the EU – and that Europe could gain market access to China which the US didn’t have. At the same time, the US is happy to make those deals with China independent of what its allies might get.

Trudeau’s comments aptly sum up Canada’s bizarre and self-defeating foreign policy, placing too much good will in following the US, which shows them no good will in return. Canada is asking for unity and solidarity against China and accusing Beijing of a ‘divide and rule’ game while its southern neighbour continues to attack its industries and exports with the Trump-era ‘America First’ protectionism. It isn’t China who’s doing the dividing.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×