Opinions
2019.11.30 13:44 GMT+8

Chinese investment in Klaipeda port is not a threat

Updated 2019.11.30 13:44 GMT+8

Editor's Note: Seymur Mammadov is the director of the international expert club EurAsiaAz and editor-in-chief of Azerbaijan's news agency Vzglyad.az. The article reflects the author's opinion and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The Western media bias toward China is going off the scale. Western publications present China's economically justified aspirations as a kind of military-political threat to the interests of Western European countries and NATO's military-political bloc.

"'We need to control it': Lithuania resists Chinese efforts to poach key shipping port," an article published by Washington Examiner (WE) this week is particularly distinguished. The author, guided by his so-called considerations, comes to the conclusion that supposedly "China is acquiring a controlling stake in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda so that Beijing can have political leverage that can be used to prevent NATO military operations in times of crisis."

Firstly, China is one of the few countries in the world that strictly adheres to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and also tries its best to avoid any military conflicts with countries that provoke it into war.

On the contrary, China is interested in creating a new economic order with the aim of accelerating the economic growth of developing countries and redistributing world income in their favor. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) may be the driving force of the new order, which implements many large-scale international and transnational economic projects both within China and in countries along the Belt and Road. 

This global project has become a powerful source of inspiration for developing countries aiming to modernize transport and logistics infrastructure and other sectors of the economy. It is in this context that the BRI should be considered, as well as the history of the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.

Moreover, unlike Western investors, Chinese businessmen and investors create conditions for the development and economic self-realization not only of themselves, but also for immigrants from those countries where they invest.

A man takes photo of a sign promoting the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, April 22, 2019. /VCG Photo

The most striking example in this sense is Africa. China is a major trading partner and one of Africa's leading donors and investors. African countries, which have seen the incoming of the Chinese, have witnessed a sharp reduction in unemployment rate, which is attributable to an improvement in the social conditions of workers involved in those areas of management and economy that are overseen by Chinese investors. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the last decade there has been an increase in the GDP of many African countries.

Perhaps the funniest of the entire WE piece is the U.S. State Department's claim that "China plans to use advanced telecommunications technology to gain access to NATO's communications systems."

Unlike the U.S., China does not have dozens of military bases around the world. Unlike the countries most belligerent towards Beijing, China does not seek to create military organizations and is not involved in military alliances.

On the contrary, today we see the growing U.S. and NATO military presence in Europe and the pressure of the Trump administration on the countries of the alliance to allocate more money for defense.

In fairness, we note that in the alliance for the fifth year in a row there has been an increase in defense spending among European allies and Canada, additional investments are estimated at 100 billion U.S. dollars. Moreover, the budget of the armed forces of the North Atlantic Alliance is 20 times higher than the military budget of Russia. So who is preparing for war?

The only goals that China is striving for is further economic development as well as deepening socioeconomic and humanitarian cooperation with all countries of the world at the bilateral levels, within the framework of international organizations, and within the framework of BRI.

It is time to abandon warlike rhetoric, various kinds of pressure on countries and backward thinking in international relations. This is especially true of the U.S. and a number of European countries - former colonizers. All they have in mind is the use of force and pressure in negotiations.

China, in turn, is a state pursuing a wise and balanced foreign policy, with the goal of establishing and deepening comprehensive relations with all countries of the world. It is simply impossible to not see the peaceful policy of China behind all this.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)

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