Wales should forge links with China
THE Welsh Government is right to recognise the importance of forging trade links with China at this dramatic moment in the development of an economic superpower.
It will take more than the occasional trade mission to radically increase our exports to China, but we can hope that relationships will be forged by the latest delegation to visit Hong Kong and Shanghai that will drive collaboration and enterprise in the years to come.
The uncertainty surrounding China’s long-term ambitions should not dissuade Welsh companies from engaging China. Quite the opposite, this nation needs to be fully alert to both the opportunities and the risks that are opening up as China takes an increasingly assertive role on the world stage.
The growing wealth of its more than 1.4 billion inhabitants means that here is a market hungry for all that is world class. If Welsh food and drink can match the finest wares of anywhere on the planet, there is no reason why some of our best-kept secrets should not find legions of new fans.
Equally, our best universities should be ready to welcome the brightest students we can recruit from China – and we should do everything we can to encourage graduates to pursue opportunities in Wales.
But we should deal with China with our eyes wide open. Optimists had hoped this giant country was motoring towards ever-greater democracy, but the decision to remove term limits on President Xi Jinping suggests that this strongman, and the Communist party he leads, are strengthening rather than relaxing their grip.
There is no reason to think that China will relent in its campaign for dominance of the South China Sea and it will press ahead with its bold efforts to forge new global trade corridors. Welsh steelworkers are fully aware of how Chinese “dumping” can jeopardise the viability of local industries, and Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on steel could lead to a deeply damaging trade war.
The UK and Wales have much to gain from greater exports to China but the wealth of economic opportunities should not stop our politicians pressing this ancient and epic country to show greater respect for human rights. This is not about trying to impose western values, but championing the principles that have powered our own progress and offer the world the best chance of mutual prosperity and lasting peace. The Western Mail newspaper is published by Media Wales a subsidiary company of Trinity Mirror PLC, which is a member of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. The entire contents of The Western Mail are the copyright of Media Wales Ltd. It is an offence to copy any of its contents in any way without the company’s permission. If you require a licence to copy parts of it in any way or form, write to the Head of Finance at Six Park Street. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2016 was 62.8%