Friso Stevens in de Volkskrant about the Chinese investment drive
Friso Stevens, External PhD candidate at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) at Leiden University, wrote in de Volkskrant on the Chinese investment drive. "The strategy is aimed at making China the dominant player in the high-tech sector in seven years."
Earlier this month at the Chinese Boao Forum, Prime Minister Rutte pleaded for a free and fair international trade regime. The fact that Rutte chose the 'Chinese Davos' for his plea against trade protectionism is striking, especially since his speech closely resembled the rhetoric of President Xi Jinping. In his contribution Rutte endorsed the Chinese slogan of the Forum regarding an open and innovation-oriented global economy. Protectionism, according to the liberal Prime Minister, was a bad reflex, hampering shared prosperity as well as shared ideas.
German-French Investment Consensus
Partly as a result of increased domestic repression under Xi Jinping and a more assertive foreign policy, American and Western European politicians, policymakers and pundits have begun to view Chinese intentions with more skepticism. Whereas Europe could long remain aloof from the Sino-American struggle over the norms and behavior of the liberal world order, leading economies Germany and France now seem to be approaching the American consensus when it comes to trade.
Deviating course
Prime Minister Rutte however, clearly opted for a deviating course at the Boao Forum. Whether it is prudent to position the Netherlands as the absolute free trade champion of the EU is questionable.
Read the full article here (Dutch only).