Conflicts of Interest: U.S., U.K. Against the Chinese People

The U.S. international trade commission sanctioned a 10 percent to 16 percent tariff on Chinese-made petroleum steel pipes on Dec. 30. In the meantime, the E.U. and U.K. governments responded strongly to the recent Akmal Shaikh case. Shaikh, a British citizen, was sentenced to capital punishment by a Chinese court for taking large amounts of illegal drugs into China.

On the surface, these two events appear to be the result of conflict between governments and have little to do with Chinese people. Yet, history tells us that in the end, the major victims are China’s common people. According to statistics, the U.S. government has launched more than 10 “anti-dumping and anti-subsidy” investigations into Chinese goods since President Obama took office. This kind of protectionist measure not only sets barriers to free trade between China and the U.S., but it also puts great pressure and has a profound impact on Chinese foreign-trade enterprises; it harms the interests of American consumers, and it makes life more difficult for the employees of those foreign-trade enterprises.

The vast increase in revenue for Chinese governmental departments in recent years and a rise in a high-income class have strengthened China with the materials and financial resources to resist financial crisis. At present, the soaring property prices in China draw the world’s attention. China makes up 25 percent of the world luxury goods market and replaces the U.S. as the second largest such market. At the same time, China has also become one of the world’s major luxury cars markets.

Statistics show that the car sales of BWM AG have a 19 percent falloff in the world market but a 26 percent rise in the Chinese market. “From poor areas to poor people: China’s evolving poverty reduction agenda,” a report published by the World Bank in April 2008, noted that though China has lifted the standard for poverty relief, the number of impoverished people is still quite large (following India) due to the immense population base. [Editor’s Note: The World Bank report was published in March 2009.]

Though the prices are rising, salaries of employees in many non-monopoly enterprises still remain the same, and the paychecks of new graduates have been low for years.

We can’t deny that Western countries and private capital have made a great contribution to push forward China’s reform and herald in new policies. During the early stages of this reform, advanced technology and improved management ideas — along with its acceptance of foreign culture — have given China a new look. This changed global economic patterns as well. The presidents of the People’s Republic of China and the U.S. have taken Sino-American relations very seriously and acted positively to build a “strategic partnership between China and the U.S.”

Sino-American affairs, however, have been through a lot of ups and downs since the Bush administration took power in 2000. Western countries’ political and economic policies toward China have been changing in recent years. China and the U.S. focus their competition in financial areas such as resources or commerce. The goods that China imports, like crude oil and colored metal, usually have a continuous rising price, while the goods that China exports have seen a price slump or have incurred a trade sanction.

During the process of economic globalization, Western countries have been relocating many factories that make products with a low added value to China. They profit from cheap labor while seriously damaging China’s environment. In spite of business ethics, some top 500 companies bribe Chinese officials in order to get their non-eco-friendly factories into China. Ironically, those companies, such as Siemens, once strongly stood against bribery.

We can clearly see that Chinese people are the ones who are falling victim to trade sanctions. Despite the financial crisis, as China has become the second largest luxury goods market, perhaps nothing will affect the purchasing power of the civil servants, high executives of monopoly enterprises and other wealthy people of China. People with property worth millions will not be affected by inflation even if their wealth has devalued throughout the crisis. Yet common people can in no way afford to lose their jobs or go through likewise misfortunes, and those who have mortgages on houses will be even more stressed. It is no longer a business secret that evil plays a role in manipulating the prices of bulk commodities such as property.

Western countries have always respected the judiciary independence of our state structure, yet in the case of British citizen Akmal Shaikh, they asked the Chinese government to exempt him from capital punishment. This reminds us of the burning of opium stocks in Humen Beach. 170 years ago, it was the Opium War that caused the unparalleled suffering of millions of Chinese and broke China into pieces.

All in all, the way that Western countries deal with international relations does not foster friendships with Chinese people!