We are mesmerized by trade with China

Dear Editor:

Why are we so mesmerized by trade with China when our largest and most reliable trading partner is the United States?

Trade with the U.S. is around $820 billion annually, with an even balance of imports and exports. Trade with China is $76 billion annually with the balance heavily skewed in favour of China. Trade with China hardly seems worth the complications, but people remain addicted to Walmart and Sino Tire stores full of cheap stuff.

Economic diversification is a good idea when it works. But, are cheap Chinese electronics and plastics worth the pain of our agricultural exports being interrupted by Chinese political embargos? Trade needs a stable and predictable political environment to prosper.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a big foofaraw about increased trade with China to the point of appointing John McCallum, a sinophile, as our ambassador. McCallum appeared to be working more for the Chinese regime than for us. It seems that a lot of the Liberals’ attraction for China was driven by their ideological distaste for Donald Trump’s administration. Is the Communist Chinese regime really preferable?

Our trade agreement with the U.S. works well for us. When Trudeau tried a free trade deal with the Chinese regime, which involved their acceptance of the Liberals’ social agenda, they predictably blew him off. It’s been downhill ever since. Those splashy fundraising parties with Chinese billionaires seem so yesterday.

China has an aggressive strategy for global economic and, by extension, military and political, dominance. Let’s steer clear of their plans which involve the exploitation of countries that engage with them.

Their espionage, industrial piracy and financial acquisitions are a menace.

The enduring Canada-U.S. relationship is vital for our economic and security well-being and must be preserved at all costs. Forget Trump and Trudeau and the ideological nitpicking; they’re passing actors whose foibles mustn’t be allowed to poison the water.

It’s time to decide who our friends are and get realistic about our dealings with the Chinese. Stop giving billions to the Asian Development Bank with the forlorn hope of improving Chinese environmental performance.

Let’s invoke legislation to block the Chinese from scooping up more of our real estate and industry at fire sale prices in the aftermath of COVID-19. The Liberals voted against this in Parliamentary Committee; providing yet another reason for Parliament to resume full operations.

John Thompson

Kaleden