March 28, 2024

The international influence of China has skyrocketed recently. This is a global power now ranking as the world’s second largest economy and striving for the leading global role in all the spheres of modern life. The geopolitical posture of the Chinese state, mostly determined by its traditional ambiguity, is based on its strong diplomacy and intensive lobbyist effort worldwide. China managed to get the status of a world leader by the beginning of the 21st century and it is presently firmly set to reconsider dominance of such power centers as Europe and the USA in many regions of the world to replace those key players there according with the Chinese agenda.

The role of the Chinese Diasporas in this effort is rather noticeable due to their active involvement in forwarding Chinese interests in western countries. Corruption, tribalism and nepotism have been actually common practice in China since ancient times contributing to the habitual image of a typical Chinese man despite his social status. Nowadays, with the political interests of China splashing beyond the national bounds, the concept of kinship has expanded as well. The proposition “among the four seas all the people are brothers” sounds as vital as never before. These are also not just mere words for dozens of millions of the “Overseas Chinese” – Huáciáo as they call them in China – who left the area of those four seas long ago, and are now scattered all over the world.

Talking about this, in their historical homeland Huáciáo, both immigrants and their descendants, are treated as compatriots, who just have to live abroad temporarily. The government of China sees them as the “unique advantage and important means of influence” while retaining with them their right to come back as legitimate Chinese citizens, all their relevant rights preserved. Chinese Diasporas are trusted with the mission of expanding cultural and diplomatic relations of China with the countries they are located in.

Generally, the Chinese World Diaspora makes up the most numerous and well organized part of Greater China. Huáciáo, are well educated as a rule, have got lucrative business and a branched clan structure (guánxi) making it possible for them to affect the policy of the host country.

Brexit became the latest bewildering revelation of this influence. President Xi Jinping bluntly sided with the position of the other world leaders, who’d rather see Great Britain as a EU member. It’s of prime importance for China economically, first of all, if Great Britain could provide its access to the EU Single Market. London has been also long supportive of granting China the “market economy status” (MES). European Parliament keeps rebuffing this idea threatening with the Chinese damping on the European labor market, as well as, in industry and trade. Under such circumstances, the Chinese Community in Great Britain, unlike the Indian one, for instance, showed rare unanimity voting against withdrawal from the EU.

The most effective tool of Greater China to meddle with a western country inner policy is, surely, the famous Chinese lobby in the USA. This ethnic community has been most active participant at all the strata of the economic, social, scientific and political life of America since the 1940s. It’s being subject of many scholarly works. Many noted political analysts are studying it. It also shouldn’t be missed on us that the huge part of the American foreign debt is now in the ownership of the Chinese government. This is money actually that rules this world, you know.

In 1996-1998 the Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward and Brian Daffy issued series of articles on the Justice Department probe into China’s attempts to buy some leverages of pressing the Clinton administration on the eve of the presidential race in 1996. They employed financial donations to the Democratic National Committee to reach the goal, engaging both Chinese intelligence agents and wealthy entrepreneurs of the Chinese descent living in the United States at that time (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/china1.htm, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/cf021098.htm). According to the official version, the graft failed. But the policy of the “strategic ambiguity” towards Taiwan, as well as, gaining by China the PNTR (status of permanent normal trade relations) under Clinton rule make it absolutely clear that the Chinese attempts were quite successful then, despite numerous objections.

At present time, Bill Clinton’s spouse is rushing to power in the USA, which only adds optimism with the current Chinese Prime Minister, Li Keqiang, in view of the further development of the relationship between America and China. Rather harsh anti-Chinese rhetoric of Hillary is no worry in the context. Yes, Mrs. Clinton is well aware of the sophisticated oriental mindset that tends to value refinement and delicacy in everything, whether it is music, fine arts or the skill of bribery.

Really, Hillary may well fit the ideal Chinese image of the state ruler, tough, strong, unscrupulous, merciless to any rivals being hurdle on the way, and, most importantly, having the price list for the services to render. Seen through the prism of eastern dictatorships, only her being a female and her age may be seen as some imperfection actually. But, under definite circumstances, China is ready to have a blind eye on such trifles. Mr. Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at the Renmin University in Beijing and an advisor to the State Council, China’s Cabinet, openly points to the desirable victory of Clinton in the race, which is no wonder at all – the Chinese stick to stability in everything. “Personally, I prefer the lesser of the two evils. If she (Hillary Clinton) becomes the US president, we are familiar with her“, he said.

Devotion of the Chinese to stability is so strong that despite the mainstream unpopularity of Mrs. Clinton in the Chinese society, bulk of the populace still prefers to see in the presidential chair rather her than Donald Trump. Chinese companies’ generous donations to the Clinton Foundation prove the fact. Thus, in 2013 only Rilin Enterprises invested as much as $2 mln into the foundation. It’s also a known fact that the owner of the company, Wang Wenliang, is also a delegate to the Chinese Parliament with the controlling interest in the Dandong Pasite Grain & Oil Co., Ltd. The company is part of the transfer chain to ensure financial footage of the ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons’ programs in North Korea. Also, his firm spent $1.4 mln on the lobbyist activities in the US Congress and State Department (right at the time Hillary was in charge there).

A lesser contribution of $500,000 into the Clinton Foundation was made by one more Chinese company, Alibaba Group, involved in the Chinese government’s suppression of the Tibet violence. But the key role in cementing the nexus of Mrs. Clinton with the Government of China belongs to Cisco System. This company has been subject to frequent criticism over the development of the so called Great Firewall enabling the communist China to exercise tough informational censorship and surveillance over its citizens in the inner social network. Still, in 2010 Cisco got the State Department annual Award for Corporate Excellence for “exhibiting corporate citizenship, promoting innovation, and advancing democratic principles around the world”. In 2009-2013 the company earned over $3.5 million on to the contracts with the State Department. According to the latest estimates, since 2008 Cisco has donated to the Clinton Foundation from $1 up to 5 million.

It looks like the relationship between Mrs. Clinton and the People’s Republic of China is much warmer than she is trying to demonstrate it. This ambiguous state owes the chance to boost its economic and trade positions worldwide to Hillary’s husband actually. Up till now Clinton herself has been meeting all the China’s expectations as a compliant and useful partner ready to satisfy all the wishes of the client for the price quite acceptable. It’s worth noting she has managed to keep saving her face all this time. One of the Hillary’s major achievements on this path is obviously the US-China EcoPartnership’s Program Under the Sino-American Ten Year Framework for Cooperation on Energy and Environment.

Hillary Clinton belongs to the sort of politics that are being so successfully supported via lobbyist Chinese effort in many countries now. With their help China has managed to enhance the Yuan global expansion, reducing dependence on the US dollar. Chinese companies have deeply entrenched in Africa, importing oil, metals and other natural resources from there. Apart from this, we can now witness the emergence of dependence on China whenever it comes to delivering of any aid to the countries in Africa, South-East Asia and Latin America. The assistance is always accompanied by the rigid demands to buy commodities of the Chinese make exclusively. Many western major companies in search of low costs and cheap labor replaced their production into China long ago. Despite previous squabbles and spy accusations China keeps fruitfully cooperating with NASA in space research programs.

There’s every ground to believe now that if Mrs. Clinton wins the presidential race in the USA, it will be rather a weighty contribution into consolidating of the above mentioned trends and only boost Chinese advancement to the position of the world leader in economy and politics.

Facebook Comments

Add comment

Your email address will not be published.

Connect with Facebook

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

josef_hashever