Muscat: ‘China is dying to invest, we shouldn’t miss out’

“China is a country with excess liquidity. It has three trillion dollars in reserves. These funds must be invested in the next 15 years. China is dying to invest and we cannot miss out on this opportunity.  We are best placed to do this because of our European Union membership, our cultural link to China and our geographical position,” Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has told MaltaToday in a clear outline of his economic vision to trade with the Asian superpower.

“We are doing no different in China than Angela Merkel and David Cameron did, and we have an advantage because of our history. China and its institutions remember that Malta was the fifth nation to recognise it diplomatically. We have rekindled an old friendship.”

This is how Muscat put forward his vision for trade with China as he left the opulent State House in the forests of Guiyang, before leaving for the Chinese capital of Beijing to join his family on a private visit.

The upbeat premier was however quick to point out that Chinese interests in Malta were “commercial, not political.”

He had just spent a week in China where he met premier Li Keqiang, with VIP treatment for his delegation as kilometres of roads were cleared of traffic to allow his car convoy to pass through Beijing’s clogged city-centre. Security was tight and policemen stood at attention by the sidewalk.

“I don’t want to criticise anyone, but the former administration neglected relations with China, perhaps because of a justified eurocentric policy, and more significantly because of internal problems at the time,” Muscat said.

Muscat’s visit also showed for the first time that an ambitious plan for a bridge connecting Malta to Gozo, using Chinese funds, was now being placed on the back burner.

For the first time ever, he expressed doubts about the environmentally sensitive project.

But he announced important developments for state utility Enemalta, which only a few months after the election, was injected with €320 million in capital for a 33% stake from Chinese state company Shanghai Electric.

Enemalta plc and Engineering Resources Ltd have identified 30 projects for renewables in Europe which would translate into 600MW of energy, enough to meet the demands of an area the size of Malta.

The other development will be a logistics centre in Malta for Chinese companies, as well as a breakwater for Marsamxett bay.

The visit in China was an opportunity to put questions to Sai Mizzi Liang, the wife of energy minister Konrad Mizzi, who for the first time declared that she was being paid €3,000 for her trade envoy’s role in China.

Muscat said Mizzi Liang was also receiving the same perks as other Maltese diplomatic staff. “The real issue with Mizzi Liang was her link to a minister… when you remove that issue, she remains the best person suited for the job. The results are already showing clearly.”

Read the full interview and Saviour Balzan's comment from Beijing in today's edition of MaltaToday on Sunday