Beyond the delicious Peking duck

I have read so many books about China, that in my mind Mao Zedong, the cultural revolution and the ‘Gang of Four’ have overtaken my perception of the country. The shock of finding something completely different makes it all the more mystifying.

Beijing, China’s polluted but industrious capital city is like any Western city, the thoroughfares are clogged with modern cars. Women drive their shiny, polished cars, wear stylish sunglasses and could be confused with any aggressive woman driver in Madrid or Athens. In the car parks, the heat is stifling and many simply leave their air conditioning on.

City Chinese are well dressed and young women make it a point to wear mini-skirts or hot pants and, of course, high heels. The city centres are too clean for my liking. Landscaping gives you the impression that you are in an American city centre.

Yes, I know that rural China is still very different, but visiting what is supposed to be the least developed province of Guizhou, I could not help wondering what the most advanced province in China is like.

Everywhere I looked in this ‘depressed’ province with Guiyang as the capital, I could see massive development of high-rise flats, skyscrapers and fly-overs that put Dubai to shame.

Stopping in Tienanmen square in Beijing I could not help remembering the events of 1989, when tanks rolled over students, but it looks very different today. 

Talking to Maltese who have lived in China for over two decades, it was very clear that the economic changes are so dramatic that the whole of China is being transformed.

Flying down to Guiyang the sheer extent and speed of the development is so intense that I could understand why the bridge from Malta to Gozo is not beyond the Chinese.

I have tried to understand the rationale behind Muscat’s fixation with China.  I believe it stems from his belief that the Chinese hold Malta in high regard (thanks to Mintoff’s legacy), but more importantly because he believes and understands that there is a time limit for China to hang on to its three trillion dollars. 

This is an export-oriented country par excellence, with massive funds in dollars – posing a direct threat to the US economy.

On the trip to China Muscat joked and quipped that I might be considered a persona non grata because of my past.  It still worries me to think that China is not a democratic state and is run by the communist party.  But there is nothing to show that communism reigns. Capitalism is so barefaced and wealth is so diffused that I have to say I am confused.

I noted an uncanny feeling between China’s economic philosophy and Muscat’s.  He argues that one must create wealth to ensure fair distribution and a strong social welfare system. China thinks the same.

The young Chinese you meet are all courteous and eager to speak in English and talk of visiting Europe. 

In the so called depressed area of Guiyang, I was shocked to see the high hills in the form of green Arancini covered with forests literally partly demolished to make way for high rise.  It seemed ironic to see that the city in its incredibly modern and gargantuan conference centre was hosting the eco-global forum and promoting this new ecological civilisation.

But not all the conference was sweet talk, with mechanical speeches that had little substance. In the workshops literally packed with young Chinese graduates there were presentations on energy saving construction, wastewater recycling and so many ‘carbon footprint’ related initiatives.  There seems to be a genuine interest in combining new technology with the green economy and energy saving in mind.

Coming from so far away, the fact that Muscat has visited China twice in less than a year meant so much to the Chinese.

The objections to Chinese investment have been emphasised by the Opposition leader. Simon Busuttil appears primarily concerned about the ‘Chinese’ factor and dominance, playing on the fact that China is that communist giant that we should be concerned about.

It would be wise if he keeps low on this one.

Yet over the ages, Malta never refused investment.  When it came to Dubai, another country where democracy as we know it is absent, we welcomed it with arms wide open. And surely Chinese intentions appear more serious than for example the ones we had at Smart City. 

The economic revolution that China has been through can realistically spill over in small minute nations such as Malta.

Malta to the Chinese is not a second thought, they are sincerely interested in investing and they can see the advantages of Malta’s EU membership.

It is perfectly legitimate. And it would be wise to take advantage of this interest without selling all the family silver.

But I do not think that this is the case, and to criticise this relationship simply because it appears easy to hit out at a former communist giant would, I believe, be puerile.

True, China is a country where Facebook, Twitter and Google are blocked. The free press as we know it, does not exist. 

And this is no different to the rest of Eurasia, where countless Asian countries suffer from a similar democratic deficit.

It is something which Merkel and Cameron and so many other EU leaders have decided to ignore. Malta is reaching out to take advantage of this great opportunity.  It will be a matter of time before we realise if this relationship will bear fruit or not.