Burton: I’ve spent 50 years navigating Canada-China relations. Here’s what I’ve learned

Burton: I’ve spent 50 years navigating Canada-China relations. Here’s what I’ve learned

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-canada-china-relations-xi-jinping-trump/

As a sinologist and a writer, I have in the past two decades published more than 200 newspaper articles that observe high-profile milestones and flashpoints, but also the nuances, complexities and tensions of China’s relations with the west.

Arriving in Britain shortly after the death of Mao, I began learning to speak and read Chinese at Cambridge. As my command of Mandarin continued to grow, I decided I would be better off continuing my studies in China. I applied to the Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program, and was accepted to study ancient Chinese philosophy at Fudan University.

I arrived in China at a good moment, historically speaking. After 10 years of fear and distrust during the Cultural Revolution, my cohort at Fudan was the first to be selected based on competitive entrance exams. These would be the most formative and fascinating years of my life.

Life in Building Four dorm meant being in close company with earnest students 24/7, sharing the same space, eating the same food. None of my roommates had ever had contact with any non-Chinese before meeting me, but I was welcomed without reservation to assimilate into their society. In Chinese culture, this means an unbreakable friendship for life and an iron obligation to loyalty. Some of my dorm mates became senior officials in the Communist régime while others emigrated to the U.S., but to this day the bond of our shared past overcomes all. 

Mr. Xi contends that China will achieve universal prosperity by 2035 and will be the planet’s undisputed power by 2050, thus rectifying perceived past humiliations of being subordinated by Japan and the west, and realizing Mr. Xi’s vision of a China-led “community of the common destiny of mankind.”

When Mr. Xi’s regime looks at resource-rich Canada, it sees a remote region “under Heaven” rather than a sovereign nation with some inalienable right to control its own territory and domestic affairs.

For China, the message to Canadians is clear: America is the past and China is the future, so we must get on the right track. Canada had better realize the rewards are great for complying with China’s political agenda, including its claim over Taiwan and military expansion in the East and South China Seas. Resistance is futile, and even the slightest opposition will have disastrous consequences for Canada’s economy.