The original article in German is here.
- Victor Gao, ex-interpreter to politician Deng Xiaoping and now Beijing's mouthpiece, promotes China's line in the West.
- In the midst of economic problems, China is trying to win back Europe as a partner - on the condition that it does not criticize Beijing.
Where other Chinese experts remain silent because the new anti-espionage law forces them to be cautious, Victor Gao [once Deng Xiaoping's interpreter, now vice president of a government-affiliated think tank and figurehead for China's propaganda] talks. And how. Whether CNN, BBC or al-Jazeera - everyone gets it from him, the party line, eloquently packaged and charmingly served.
[...]
His current mission: to woo Europe, while relations with the West are crumbling under the weight of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang, corona and closing ranks with Russia.
[...]
Victor Gao demands: "Wake up from your American nightmare." And immediately delivers the Chinese offer: less morality, more market. China as a "resource", not a rival.
[...]
But behind the smile lurks geopolitical calculation.
After all, NATO has long been seen as the enemy, and Western democracies are described in China's state media as decadent, refugee-ridden orders. At the same time, Gao preaches closing ranks in interviews - as long as Europe refrains from any criticism of Beijing.
[...]
Victor Gao, who translated Deng's words into the international arena in the 1980s, embodies China's transformation: from an aspiring reformist state to an autocratically controlled superpower under Xi Jinping.
What used to be openness is now demarcation - and yet: economic hardship is forcing China back towards rapprochement.
With the economic downturn in its own country, youth unemployment, the real estate crisis, demographic decline and mountains of debt, it now wants Europe back as a partner. Or at least as a market.
[...]
Gao describes Europe as a continent on the brink of collapse: "You have no more money at all," he says. China, on the other hand? Ready to help. With experience, technology and growth. A kind of development aid - made in China.
But the price is high: no criticism. No geopolitics. No questions asked.
Human rights? Tibet? Xinjiang? Are elegantly omitted. Anyone who raises them is either a "gangster" financed by the USA or a naïve idealist. Gao prefers to sell the high-speed train network, the next 6G expansion and the bubbling growth figures.
Problems? "Of course there are," he says - and immediately changes the subject.
[...]
Victor Gao says that Europe is too small to be an adversary.
But perhaps this is precisely Europe's underestimated strength: not wanting to dominate, but to mediate between the extremes - without selling out.
Because Gao is right about one thing: the world as we know it is changing rapidly. But whether China's charm offensive is more than just a tactical smile will be measured by whether Beijing wants genuine partnership - or just a Europe that shuts up and pays up.
How about neither? Both China and the USA have proven themselves to be unreliable trade partners. In fact, a lack of reliability is inherent in any trade relationship. The conventional theory is that trade brings prosperity (true!) and governments want to maintain that prosperity, so they have a (literally) vested interest in preserving that - and this latter part is not so true anymore these days. (We all know why of course, it's because the prosperity is not shared equally in the USA, and China is unstable because it's a totalitarian state that will happily immolate itself in order to save face - but this is besides the point.)
The important point is that while trade is nice because it brings greater prosperity, it also comes with security risks and as we move into a new age of geopolitics, we need to be aware of this and find a better balance between trade and security. It will be hard, because it's so easy to be greedy and focus only on economics, but hopefully we will continue learning the lesson of finding this balance as we see more and more crazy things unfold over the course of this decade.