Germany wishes, as with all countries, including America, peace and friendship.
Adolf Hitler
Those were the words of Adolf Hitler, in January 1939, less than half a year before he unleashed the German war machine without provocation and after the other Western powers had repeatedly granted extraordinary concessions to his gangster regime.
Hitler has just been given a run for his money in the barefaced cheek stakes by the
genocidal dictator of the 21st century, Xi Xinping.
Those eager to sign deals with China ought to take notice.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has declared the “strong should not bully the weak” as he delivered a veiled warning to the new Biden administration days after sending warplanes into Taiwanese airspace and engaging in skirmishes with India.
Yes, Xi Xinping said that. With a straight face.
This from the regime that is not only openly threatening invasion against Taiwan and war with India and a “long-lasting confrontation with Japan” but is also sinking Vietnamese and Philippines fishing boats. Not to mention its months of heavy-handed diplomatic and trade bullying of Australia.
But, for all his braggadocio and blatant hypocrisy, what Xi’s speech really signals is that he is worried. Very, very worried.
Hitler’s duplicity in 1939 signalled his fear of having to face America in war and was also designed to reassure the domestic audience. Xi’s speech also sends different signals to each of its intended audiences.
“To build small circles or start a new Cold War, to reject, threaten or intimidate others, to wilfully impose decoupling, supply disruption or sanctions, and to create isolation or estrangement will only push the world into division and even confrontation,” he said[…]
“The strong should not bully the weak,” he said. “Decision[s] should not be made by simply showing off strong muscles or waving a big fist.”
In other words, Beijing really is afraid of the Quad alliance and similar regional alliances now taking shape. China’s neighbours are awake to Xi’s global ambitions and are banding together against the Chinese bully. Even Joe Biden, somewhat surprisingly, seems set to continue the Trump policy of hedging in China. America has a roster of allies; China has one: North Korea.
So Beijing is desperately trying to buy new friends where it can, especially if it can white-ant the weak links in America’s existing alliances.
Despite China’s ongoing dispute with Canberra, Beijing agreed on Tuesday to an expanded trade deal with New Zealand, including tariff-free access for almost $NZ3bn ($2.8bn) of wood and paper products and benefits for seafood exporters.
The Australian
Like her ideological counterpart in Australia, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, Jacinda Ardern is blinded by the glitter of China’s apparent rivers of gold and recklessly indifferent to the steel strings attached to Beijing’s largesse. For its part, Beijing is taking advantage of New Zealand’s parlous economic outlook under Ardern’s clueless management and is dangling the prospect of BRI cash to a clearly besotted Ardern.
Ardern might care to ask Laos, for instance, or Pakistan, about the “benefits” of signing on to the BRI. A 2018 study estimated that their BRI obligations threaten to bankrupt at least eight nations.
Like Daniel Andrews, who blithely ignored warnings from the Australian government and security agencies, Ardern is carelessly dealing with the devil.
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