The China threat
of its authoritarian ideals pose a - mocracy as well as Europe’s values and interests,” it warned. “China takes advantage of the one-sided openness of Europe. Europe’s gates are wide open whereas China seeks to tightly restrict access of foreign ideas, actors and capital.”
Another study, “China at the China Relations,” by the European Council on Foreign Relations, pointed to the asymmetry in EU-China relations, with China claiming developing economy rank among global economies.”
The problem for China is global. Australia recently proposed new legislation to crack down on foreign interference in political activity. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull noted - ence when his government proposed the new rules which, among other things, would ban foreign political donations and identify lobbyists for foreign governments.
Even in tiny New Zealand, there is growing concern over China. AnneMarie Brady, a China specialist at the University of Canberra, published a report last year on Chinese efforts to infiltrate New Zealand party politics, media and education. Her in December and, in February, her home was burglarized with computers, phones and USB storage devices stolen while other valuables were left untouched. The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, voiced alarm and promised to look into the matter.
It matters little that the Communist Party of China is raising the volume of its propaganda campaign, asserting over and over again that China is “dedicated to promoting lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity and building a community with a shared future for mankind.”
The message is not the problem. The problem is what China actually does in practice. And clearly, many countries are concluding, on the basis of observing Chinese actions, that the “China threat” is much more than a theory. The latest news out of China, that the ruling Communist Party has proposed scrapping term limits for the president, appearing to pave the way for presidents to serve for life, is likely to exacerbate such fears.