Nobody can deny that China is on its way to becoming the dominant world superpower. Globalisation meant that the country swallowed up manufacturing jobs from the West, with profit hungry companies falling over each other to avail of China’s enormous workforce and low costs. Look at virtually any product in your own home and you’ll see the iconic three words that could define the 21st century: Made In China.
The Chinese Communist Party, led by the shrewd and enigmatic Xi Xinping, rule the country and its population with an unparalleled level of control. Their regime of surveillance trumps that of the Soviets, with any trace of dissidence is met with swift reprisals. Any nation that dares question China is met with crippling trade tariffs as we’ve recently seen applied to Australia. History will judge this our global generation if we allow the spoils of trade to blind us from the alleged unthinkable horrors occurring within China.
We’ve seen extensive evidence of ethnic cleansing and widespread human rights abuse against the Uighur population, with over a million people estimated to be interned in Xinjiang province at dystopian ‘re-education’ camps. This didn’t stop Disney filming large parts of ‘Mulan’ here, lured by the prospect of cheap production costs and the lucrative Chinese cinema audience. China is one of the largest producers of cotton in the world, with 80% of its harvest coming from this region supplying top brands across the world.
In Hong Kong unsettling new extradition laws have rolled in, threatening the city state’s sovereignty it was promised when Britain granted it leave of its shrinking overseas empire. Citizens who practised their right to protest were met with savage brutality at the hands of police, with activists both at home and abroad terrified into silence by concern for their family’s safety.
China’s actions overseas also warrant close scrutiny, with allegations of ‘debt trap diplomacy’ arising all over the planet. From Montenegro to Sri Lanka, developing economies are being lavished with investment from China in return for extreme diplomatic and economic influence. Much of Africa has already fallen under Beijing’s sphere of power, with governments unable to question China’s authority due to the massive debts they’ve found themselves wrapped in.
Only in recent years have the American security apparatus began a massive crackdown on Chinese espionage, targeting in particular the country’s technology sector. In recent months countless stories have surfaced of Beijing’s spies operating all over the US, from students on academic Visas to those embedded officers in law enforcement and intelligence.
Perhaps most pressing on people’s concerns across the world is the government’s response to Covid-19, which emerged under unclear circumstances in Wuhan late last year. Rather than allow nations to assess the virus’ origins to dispel mounting conspiracy theories, China has reacted with hostility to anyone hoping to investigate. The pandemic has devastated the world, killing over a million people and dragging billions into a global lockdown and recession.
The world, including small business friendly countries like Ireland, should see China as a valuable and important trading opportunity. But if we allow ourselves to become complacent in the face of an increasingly threatening and authoritarian regime, we risk plunging into a world led by a power that shares none of our values and scorns precious international laws. The global community urgently needs to stand up to China, demanding reform and transparency, before history casts us as the enablers to its villainy.
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