CHINA ESTABLISHING WHILE USA LOSING WORLD LEADERSHIP

Due to China’s strategic shift, it is narrowing rich-poor gap, improving its people’s living standards and expanding its domestic markets and needs natural resources and cheap labor. Its huge foreign exchange reserve and its people’s huge savings need to be invested elsewhere. Africa and quite a few ASEAN countries have rich natural resources and need Chinese investment and market to provide job opportunities for their cheap labor.

There are now over 2,000 enterprises with US$40 billion Chinese investment in Africa and China became Africa’s biggest trading partner in 2009 and its trade with Africa rose more than 20% in 2010. For better relations, Chinese government spent US$200 million to build the headquarters of the African Union. Its No. 4 leader Jia Qinglin attended African Union’s recent summit and promised to provide African Union with US$95 million funds over the next three years.

China cannot establish and maintain its leadership in Africa if its relations with Africa are not mutually beneficial. There have already been complaints about trade imbalance. In order to enable both parties to be winners, China’s deputy commerce minister Gao Hucheng said that China would increase its investments in African manufacturing and transfer technology and management skills to “change from made-in-China to made-in-Africa”.

Similarly, in Southeast Asia, Chinese is one of the leading trading partners and investors in quite a few countries and its labor-intensive industry is moving to Cambodia and other countries with cheap labor. If China adopts a policy similar to what it plans to adopt in Africa, China’s leadership in Southeast Asia is ensured.

Even the EU wants Chinese funds now.

In short, China is establishing its leadership in the world by providing funds, job opportunities and a growing huge market while making money from the investment and obtaining cheap goods for its people.

What about America?

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama gives priority to bringing manufacturing and jobs back to America. He perhaps means bringing jobs back from China, but China is moving enterprises that require cheap labor to African and South East Asia. By bringing back jobs, America will reduce the job opportunities created by China in developing countries.

Moreover, while China is providing its expanding huge market for developing countries, President Obama plans to make “it easier for American businesses to sell products all over the world.” He said he would “go anywhere in the world to open new markets for America products.” Certainly, demand for the products of those countries will decrease.

President Obama’s policies are certainly good for America, but who in the world will follow his leadership to have their job opportunities and domestic and export market shares reduced?

Chan Kai Yee is the author of “Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements: The Silent Peaceful Coup D’état In China…”.

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