Days after revealing that businessman Michael Spavor – who became the second Canadian citizen detained in China since Beijing warned it would retaliate against Canada for the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver earlier this month – had been arrested for “threatening national security”, the Communist Party made clear that this is only the beginning, and that Canada should expect “further escalation” as Beijing has no intentions of backing down – and every intention of sending a message to US allies that they should stay out of the still-simmering dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
Via an editorial in the Global Times, an English-language Chinese media company considered to be a mouthpiece for the Communist Party, China accused Canada and other US allies of forming “a collective encirclement and suppression of Chinese high-tech enterprise Huawei” – likely a reference to the US’s campaign to convince its allies to avoid Huawei equipment, citing its vulnerability to Chinese spies, as well as Canada’s cooperation in Meng’s detention – the editorial “suggested” that China should leverage its economic heft to deter US allies from taking actions contrary to China’s interest.
By calling on its allies, the US has gradually formed a collective encirclement and suppression of Chinese high-tech enterprise Huawei. It is a wicked precedent.
Almost all US allies maintain active economic and trade ties with China, of which China is the biggest trading partner of many of them. China needs to urge these countries to keep neutral in the conflict between Washington and Beijing.
It is possible for China to achieve this goal to a considerable extent because China does not threaten the strategic security of the US and its allies and it is more conducive for them to pursue national interests by maintaining good ties with China than to follow the hard line of the US.
And if these countries continue to work against China to appease the US, China should not hesitate to retaliate.
However, this does not mean that Beijing will capitulate to them at every step. For those countries that seek to ingratiate themselves to the US without regard to China’s interests, China should firmly fight back, causing a heaving price for them.
…
When weighing retaliation against the US, China must focus on participants in the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance – particularly Canada, Australia and New Zealand. As we’ve previously reported, infiltrating the “Five Eyes” cabal has long been a focus for Chinese intelligence services.
And as it seeks to do this, China must be prepared for conflicts to escalate.
In this complicated game, China should focus on the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, especially Australia, New Zealand and Canada, who actively follow the US against China. The first two nations are far from the European continent and have a subtle distance with most Western countries. China is the largest trading partner of both Australia and New Zealand and the second largest of Canada, thus the country has enough means to counter them.
In the struggle with Canada, China needs to prepare for the possibility of conflict escalation. Beijing must take the contest seriously and maximize the support of international public opinion, leaving Western media no smear to slander its counterattacks as “degradation of China’s opening-up.”
China’s new round of opening-up is in its ascendancy and in the wake of complicating external games for the country. No matter how difficult the situation is, sincere opening-up is not contradictory to a reasonable defense of China’s interests.
Full article: China Press Warns To “Prepare For Escalation Of Conflict With Canada” (ZeroHedge)
Global Geopolitics 