Let’s not get too upset over recent Chinese issues

Shortly after concluding her State visit to the PRC, President Michelle Bachelet was the subject of various comments from some Chilean politicians and political players, who seem to want to deny the true weight of Chile in the international community or a attribute to Chile a manifest destiny to its interpretation of what respect for human rights means for the governments other nations, which are located elsewhere and that certainly have other perspectives, experiences and times. It was the first State visit by a Chilean president in seven years to our nation’s most important trading partner.

Those, who took advantage of their media spotlight to cast doubt on the real nature of the China-Chile relationship, pretended to not understand the implications of Chile’s being the only country in Latin America to question the legitimacy of one of the cornerstone of international recognition of the government in Beijing as the legitimate representative of the interests of the Chinese people. China consists of more than 50 different ethnic groups living in a territory rich in mountains, jungle, tundra, desert and snow. Chile has done this, without interruption, for over 37 years and it is perhaps one of the main foreign policy legacies of the Allende administration.

To be sure, 85% of Chile’s social programs are financed via foreign trade revenues. These revenues have allowed Chile to become one of the few countries in the world to meet a number of the UN’s Millennium Goals.

Like it or not, we must accept that Chile is in an interdependent world. China is now a player any developing country’s strategy for the future. Without China, our country would not have adequate resources to continue on the path of social progress; a path which every party in the Chilean congress has roundly, and unconditionally, endorsed.

 
I want to put this in the clearest terms possible. We would not have enough revenues to build new schools or repair our old ones. Foreign trade provides funds for Chile’s health clinics, recreation centers and defense materiel. And this last item is vital to our policy of deterrence. Our national budget requires money to alleviate the effects of winter among our most vulnerable populations. These are just a few examples of how our trade with China has a direct effect on the welfare and security of the majority of Chileans.

Of course, we must take into consideration that the Olympic Games have placed the international media spotlight on a number of serious problems present in China’s development process. These issues are on the agenda of the Chinese Communist Party and president Hu Jintao. Theses issues have also aroused the interest of thousands of young Chinese who share their impressions (some of which are deeply nationalist) on websites and blogs such as Tian Ya, Xici or Sina.

But make no mistake. The fact that the world points its finger at China does not bring any short, medium or long term benefit. In fact it creates a more fertile ground for disenchantment with the West or inculcates mistrust among young Chinese who want their country to regain its status. They view their country as deserving of being a permanent member of the Security Council of United Nations; those privileges corresponding to any other economic and nuclear power.

This is a zero-sum game for Beijing.