When China wakes up the world will shake, said Alain Peyrefitte in a personal reflection on various topics. The latter visited Mao’s country in 1971 as a politician and writer. Thus he realized on this occasion a report of inquiry on the state of this country then in the middle of the great proletarian cultural revolution. Her argument was that given the size and growth of the population, she will inevitably end up imposing herself on the rest of the world as soon as she masters sufficient technology. Nowadays, this Asian giant oscillates between the first and the second world economic place. It will undeniably dominate the world in a decade at most. What will she do with the rest of the world and what do we expect from her?
China in the West.
In 1858, miners of Chinese origin arrived in British Columbia (Canada) attracted by the discovery of gold in the Fraser Valley. Twenty-six years later, fifteen thousand of them took part in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway on the west coast of the maple country. Today, the population of Chinese origin is estimated at nearly 4 million in North America. The economic importance of the latter is great even if its number is relatively small. It should be noted that the Asian population is now the primary source of immigration. It is preferred by far to that of Africa and the Caribbean, which is considered lazy and poor. In some cities like Vancouver, the Asian character immediately strikes anyone who ventures into this city on the west coast of Canada. Apparently billionaires are coming in and they are buying without counting. In this way, whites who are poor or less affluent are forced to move to the peripheries because they can no longer bear the cost of living in urban centers. Faced with this endless acquisition, the Canadian authorities imposed a 15% tax on foreign buyers. Other measures such as the tax on vacant dwellings, the limitation of the increase of the rents with the rate of inflation among others, were put in place in order to slow the ardor of the new arrivals. These new measures were established following the sharp increase in the number of new foreign acquirers. US President Donald Trump would have acted in the same direction by imposing a 25% tax on more than 200 billion Chinese products to protect the US economy and bail out the coffers of the public treasury. Also, a certain mistrust is installed against these foreigners who often tend to jostle the established order with their beliefs and their capital.
In other western countries, we did the same thing. New laws and tougher taxes are continually being brandished to protect national economies. The people also do not let themselves go. They punish politicians and businessmen who have inclinations for foreign interests. So it is not uncommon for parliamentary committees to look at controversial decisions to enlighten public opinion.
The West is still characterized by a system where order and justice reign, even if everything is not perfect. So the newcomer has no choice but to navigate a regulated system. A doctor from Burundi cannot practice in Quebec (Canada) without the work permit issued by the College of Physicians. This is why we often find executives from elsewhere converted to taxi drivers or occupying very poorly paid jobs.
China, Africa and other countries
It is depressing to talk about this old continent that is still under assistance. Unfortunately, black Africans are still seen as beggars or sloths at least in the West. In Asia and some Middle Eastern countries they are considered slaves or cursed individuals. Recently in Casablanca, I saw black illegal immigrants who were staying in cardboard shelters. To survive, they went to the corners of the streets to beg for food. Local people looked at them with disgust and contempt. By continually soliciting help, our black leaders only further reinforce this bad perception that others have of their people. This is why black immigration is generally the least favorite of the countries that still open their borders to welcome foreigners for lack of manpower or others.
Also, our thousands of young people who leave their country in makeshift boats to go elsewhere is a serious phenomenon. They should force their leaders to create employment programs for them instead of allowing them to use public funds in high-profile spending that has no head and tails. The abandonment of these countries by their youth in the prime of life is a tragedy that risks driving this continent. In addition, the decline in rainfall has further complicated the social situation. Few crops ripen because of lack of water in some countries. But it was predictable because the advance of the desert due to the deforestation caused by the man passed there. Elections and again the African elections. The recent elections in Mali have sufficiently shown that our leaders do not want to know anything about free and transparent voting. They are subscribers or adapters of electoral masquerades. All this with the complicity of the West and the international organization of the Francophonie which is an organization that only benefits in Canada and France. We need a Francophone political organization that defends the people and not an organization that steals the poorest people on the planet.
Globalization hurts us too. Western products are landing in Africa while ours do not all. Our markets are open while theirs are almost closed. In addition, it has become a dump of food and pharmaceutical products unfit for consumption or even carcinogenic. Hence the increase in chronic and serious diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, kidney problems and cancer. Almost anything can enter because our control systems such as customs or inspection services are anarchic and corrupt. The disorder is total and absolute. This globalization is a booby trap designed to further impoverish and kneel the African continent and the poor countries. It’s Western scam.
What will the Chinese do in such a system unrecognizable almost without law? They need more and more energy, material resources and land for agriculture, among others. They also anticipate a deficit in their homes with the rapid increase of their population for whom the needs have become increasingly difficult to meet. The barriers that will hold them are weak and they will be quickly dismantled by the power of money. In addition, they have a lot of money and they have vultures or scavengers in front of them ready to sell their country, their brothers and sisters for money they will invest elsewhere than at home.
But it will also face Westerners whose interests are highly protected and secure. They will not let themselves go because the survival and high standard of living of their population depends on it. It would be unimaginable for China to resume bauxite in Guinea at the expense of Canada. It will not take the oil contracts of France in Gabon in Nigeria and elsewhere. Not to mention the other powers such as Great Britain, the United States and Portugal who watch over grains and monitor their possessions in Zimbabwe in Angola and elsewhere. But it will take advantage of a smaller flaw of these powers to extend its influences. For example, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) took over the share held by French Total in the Pars-South gas field in Iran. Total had previously stated that it was withdrawing from this consortium if it did not obtain a waiver from the sanctions imposed by the United States. In a sarcastic tone, Bloomberg wrote on a report on Iran: “US sanctions against Iran have given China the largest gas field in the world. ”
Finally, the diaspora as a solution to the African crisis or elsewhere
The African political class is the weak link in this new race for interests. The greed and dictatorship imposed as a model of management by the African elite will further weaken the living conditions of local populations. These precarious conditions will be aggravated by economic distress and the poor human rights situation. China, like other Asian or emerging countries, with their financial power is likely to benefit and settle for good. Many of our Diaspora compatriots believe that this Asian giant will in turn colonize Africa. The diaspora that supports this continent by billions while nationals leave more should take responsibility. But in the meantime, she should fight rogue electoral laws like limiting the age of candidates and excluding candidates with dual nationality. It must also make reason to the west and this new Asian giant who still trainees many pots washing rooms in the backwater Geneva. Xi Jinping’s pollution and poor human rights and other conditions are bad news for everyone.
Gondiel Ka
Montreal, Canada
chronicler
Expertise Relation Africa-Canada
