On this episode of China Uncensored,
as trade disputes between China and the US continue,
China looks for more friends.
Welcome back to China Uncensored.
I'm Chris Chappell.
As China and the US edge closer to a full-on trade war,
the Chinese Communist Party is looking to turn
America's allies against it.
And at the top of that list is the European Union.
The EU and the US are China's biggest trading partners.
Many Western countries,
like France and Germany,
have complained about the Chinese Communist Party's
unfair trade practices.
For example, stealing technology and manipulating
Chinese currency to keep exports cheap.
But now trade relations are getting worse.
A few weeks ago President Donald Trump
threatened to impose tariffs
on a total of $150 billion dollars worth of Chinese exports.
It's in response to the Chinese regime's unfair industrial subsidies
and the theft of American intellectual property.
According to the Intellectual Property Commission,
theft of intellectual property costs the US economy
$600 billion dollars a year.
And—surprise, surprise—
China is the biggest culprit.
And that's only the direct impact of IP theft.
If you factor in the long-term impact
of lost future revenue from innovation and jobs,
the loss could be as much as $5 trillion a year,
according to one expert.
Of course, the Chinese Communist Party
doesn't think they're doing anything wrong
by stealing intellectual property.
I mean, the Party literally wrote intellectual property theft
into their latest five-year economic plan.
They're just upset that the chickens
are finally coming home to roost.
So they're retaliating by threatening to implement
their own tariffs on US goods.
And now the Party is upping the ante.
They're trying to drive a wedge between the US and Europe.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the European Union
to "stand up together" against American protectionism
"and uphold the rules-based multilateral order."
I'm sorry, but Chinese Communist Party
wants to "uphold the rules-based multilateral order"?
That's coming from the same regime
that's been accused of violating World Trade Organization rules
41 times in the past 17 years.
And that for years forced foreign companies to share
their technology and profits with local Chinese partners
as a condition of doing business.
And that buys up key assets like seaports in smaller nations,
and then uses economic leverage
to interfere with that country's politics.
So I think what the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
actually meant was,
"Could we all please just uphold the status quo?"
Anyway, last week, Beijing's top trade official,
Fu Ziying, went on a diplomatic charm offensive in Europe.
His goal: to convince long-time US allies
to side with China if there's a trade war with the US.
According to a senior European diplomat
who didn't want to be identified,
the message was that the EU
must "stand together against US protectionism
in favor of free trade."
And another diplomat said that the Chinese official
used "subliminal threats" about bad things
that could happen to foreign companies.
Subliminal threats, huh?
Like how you might want to break down your trade barriers
before Joey over here breaks them for you.
He's gonna increase the size of your trade deficit
if you know what I'm saying.
No wonder those European diplomats
wanted to remain anonymous.
See, this potential trade war with the US
is putting the Chinese Communist Party in a tough spot.
To survive a trade war with the US,
they have to make sure Europe keeps its markets open.
That's according to Yukon Huang,
an expert on China's economy at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace.
But all the attention the Chinese Communist Party
is lavishing on the EU
means that although they talk tough,
Trump's tariff offensive is setting them edge.
China's move "smacks of desperation
because China knows that the EU
is not going to confront its biggest ally"—
which is the United States.
And then, just to drive the point home,
a few days after trade representative
Fu Ziying's European tour wrapped up,
27 out of 28 European Union ambassadors to China
co-signed a report criticizing Xi Jinping's flagship
One Belt One Road Initiative.
One Belt One Road is the trillion dollar infrastructure plan
that builds trade corridors linking China with the rest of the world,
including Europe.
But many denounce the scheme as a way for China
to gain the upper hand in trade and to meddle in other countries.
And EU leaders seem to agree.
The European ambassadors say One Belt One Road
is designed to restrict free trade
and favor Chinese companies.
One German newspaper got hold of the EU ambassadors' signed report.
It supposedly says One Belt One Road
"runs counter to the EU agenda for liberalizing trade
and pushes the balance of power
in favor of subsidized Chinese companies."
Hmmmm.
That makes it a bit harder for the Chinese regime
to claim the high ground of defending free trade.
A senior European diplomat told Reuters the EU
was "not in the business of taking sides" in a trade war,
and that its goal is "to get the multilateral process back on track."
In other words,
get China and the US to work together
and with other countries,
to resolve their dispute through the World Trade Organization.
Ultimately it looks like the EU agrees with the US
that the Chinese regime is not playing by the rules,
but they don't really like how the US is dealing with it.
So, do you think the US and Europe will remain pals?
Or will the Chinese regime manage to drive a wedge between them?
Leave your comments below.
Once again, I'm Chris Chappell.
See you next time.
Find out more about the ways the Chinese Communist Party
tries to gain the upper hand in international relations.
Visit China Uncensored.tv.
We upload full half hour episodes you won't see on YouTube.
That's ChinaUncensored.tv.
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