The report, The Chinese Communist Party’s Coercive Diplomacy, published by the Australia Strategic Policy Institute, analyzes 152 cases of coercive diplomacy by the Communist Party of China (CCP) over the past decade, including trade sanctions, hostage reprisals, and popular boycotts to force other countries or businesses to submit to humiliation or apologize.
The report, published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, maps out how the Chinese Communist Party regime has used “coercive diplomacy” to oppress governments and businesses around the world over the past decade and, in the 152 cases analyzed, finds that Beijing’s authorities have used both economic measures, such as trade sanctions, investment restrictions, travel bans, and non-economic tactics, and non-economic tactics, such as trade sanctions, investment restrictions, travel bans, and boycotts, to force other countries or businesses to comply. Consumer boycotts, such as arbitrary detentions, official travel, and state-issued restrictions, force other governments or international businesses to do what China wants. The report notes that 82.7 percent of companies have publicly apologized or followed Chinese instructions as a result, and many have received little help from their governments in responding.
Of the 27 countries targeted by China, Australia was involved in 17 cases, followed by Canada in 10 cases and the United States in nine cases.
Patricia Adams, executive director of Probe International, a Canadian think tank, says that Canada is among the hardest-hit countries, but Canada’s soft posture toward China is very different from that of Australia and the U.S. But the fact is, weakness doesn’t help, and two Canadians – Cominco and Sparver – have been very helpful in this regard. It’s a shame that the ruling federal Liberal government doesn’t seem to be coming to its senses. “Some senior Liberals, like former Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, have gone so far as to propose a “prisoner swap” that would return two Canadians to China in exchange for Meng Wanzhou’s release, in the naive belief that this would lead to better relations between Canada and China and thus economic and trade benefits. Public opinion is far apart.”
For example, Saskatchewan’s pork exports to China are the largest, but Japan’s total exports are the highest, because Japan buys premium meat. In addition, doing business is not just about making money for a while, but also about building on the same values for the long haul. “Imagine if Canada had arrested not Huawei Meng Wanzhou today, but a big corporate executive from Japan or South Korea, this problem would not have happened. Because we share common values with Japan, South Korea or Taiwan, and have political views and international affairs that resonate with them, but not with China, I’m afraid we shouldn’t just look at trade numbers when discussing our relationship and interests.”
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s report recommends that countries take steps to prevent China’s “coercive diplomacy,” including the establishment of multilateral forums for governments to coordinate actions and build alliances to respond to China; that the Five Eyes Alliance consider evolving into an economic security alliance; and that they factor in the risks associated with establishing economic and trade relations with China and work with the business community to figure out how best to respond to China’s threats, so that individual companies are not left helpless in the face of Chinese intimidation.
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