We have plenty of village politicians in our government, and even in the Opposition, who are economically illiterate and, as a result, are prone to believe many myths and legends, and even act on them. Apparently, one of the prevailing myths in Maltese politics is that China has the Midas touch and that whatever it touches turns to gold. This seems to be the rationale behind making it a priority to hand over our public funds and scientific research to China for free.
Our politicians excel at giving free stuff to China. There’s even a bizarre fascination about the totalitarian country with many politicians thinking that China has a unique and intelligent way of doing things which is rooted in its long history of culture and knowledge. Chinese wisdom apparently will bring prosperity to the world.
This is not jut an issue with Maltese politicians: China effectively and strategically presents itself to the world as the alternative to our current international-rules-based order which it counteracts with its “multipolarism”: another word for an international order not based on law, but on the mediation between various imperial powers. Anyone armed with a basic GSCE education understands that China, like Russia, wants a world run with the principle of might is right, and it is in favour of this principle because it has the military pretensions of challenging the US, but especially its neighbours in the Pacific where it is constantly encroaching in its neighbours’ sea waters, especially that of the Philippines.
Then there are others who very well know about China’s threats to out democracy but they still serve China’s interests because they are paid to do so. Malta’s previous and disgraced Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, has been on the payroll of the Chinese for some time now, not to mention the sale of Enemalta’s shares to Shanghai Electric.
China can successfully project itself as an economic success because its rapid economic growth from the 1980s to the early 20000s, until the Covid pandemic, was based on what economists describe the process of economic development: basically the process in which your country stops being poor. In many different measures, China did indeed stop being poor by pulling out most of its population out of poverty and uplifting living standards across the board.
There’s no economic miracle behind this economic development in China: many countries including Malta went through their phase of economic development and even though the degree by which state intervention was applied is different from country to country, free markets eventually always came out as the final end point by which to rapidly accelerate economic growth. China is no exception to this.
Yet, by all metrics, China remains a developing economy and an emerging market, and it is not a fully developed economy. Much like Russia, which boasts two major metropolitan cities where salaries may approach those in major European and US cities, the rest of the country remains mired in economic hardship and relatively poor living conditions. In fact, many foreigners may not even be aware that rural Chinese citizens cannot freely relocate to cities like Beijing or Shanghai: they require a government-issued permit to move and work there, severely restricting their freedom of movement and economic opportunities.
China may not even remain on its constant growth trajectory and India may even start growing rapidly enough to start challenging China in terms of economic size. High and double-digit economic growth is not unusual during the process of economic development. On the other hand, developed economies will grow relatively more slowly because because the impact of €1 is much stronger in a poor economy than in developed economy. Simultaneously, as China will grow less as Xi Jinping has closed in on his local entrepreneurial elite, has increased controls and regulations on foreign companies and increased capital and financial restrictions.
China is remembered as a the great consumer which alleviated the global economy with its purchases post 2008 crisis. Even on this matter, China is changing as the government prefers to focus on the growth and success of local manufacturing industries in order to benefit from the ever growing share of the consumer’s importance in China’s economy. A major example is the car industry as European and US car manufacturers sell less cars to China with sales of China’s domestic producers soaring.
The anti-imperialists of yesterday, have become the imperialist fools of today, as today’s socialists believe in China’s goodwill while it undermines the international rules-based order. Many politicians remain naïve and completely oblivious about China, what it is and its aspirations. Others are paid to serve it. Those with foresight are looking at India as the next potential Asian giant which will also simultaneously and possibly act as an ally of the West.
Website Editor
Historian and Publisher
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