Europe’s Fear of China

Since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, bringing the world’s stock markets to collapse, neither Europe nor the US had been able to stabilise its economic situation. The stock market rebounded briefly, only to crash again soon after, unnoticed. The most recent major event was the subprime mortgage crisis. In response, virtually all the national banks of western countries tried to rescue private banks and other financial institutions. This led to Iceland’s bankruptcy and near-bankruptcy in other states, such as Greece and Ireland.

Without delving deeper into this argument, we can see that economic uncertainty is deeply felt in both the US and Europe. In many places, people feel insecure and afraid of the future. This feeling is reinforced by China’s apparent resistance to the crisis. In fact, it seems that the Chinese economy could benefit from the crisis, as it is selling more goods to increasingly thrifty Western countries.

China grows and Europe shrinks
The events following the end of the Second World War signalled the end of Europe’s supremacy. The British and French empires dissolved, and both France and Britain gradually became politically irrelevant. Initially, power shifted only within the Western powers, thanks to the US and the USSR. Meanwhile, Asia, Africa and Latin America had little to no influence on the global political stage.

While the USSR began to dissolve in the 1980s, Europe attempted to regain economic and political influence by forming the EU. However, Europe has no real influence, except through individual countries such as France or England. The only remaining power factor is military: NATO. However, this organisation often seems to be a toothless tiger. For example, NATO could not prevent the massacre in Srebrenica on European territory. The West is experiencing significant economic challenges, such as rising unemployment in many countries. The fear of China’s rising power seems justified.

The Europeans are afraid of the Chinese competition
There is often talk of the spectre of China and Nostradamus’ “prophecy” of the yellow peril is often invoked. This is more of a fantasy. The fear that really depresses Europe is the fear of no longer being able to compete with the rest of the world, above all China, and having to lower its standard of living as a result. Perhaps there is more to it than that, namely the confrontation with the self-image that Europe is the centre of the world, coupled with the idea that although all people are equal, Europeans are somehow better than Asians, Africans or Latin Americans. A mirror is held up to this self-image in the form of the successful Chinese. In school textbooks, Europeans have images of China in their minds of collectively thinking beings, deprived of any individuality, who dragged stones somewhere using the most primitive means. And now, out of nowhere, these same people are the new economic captains of the world.

Isolationism instead of opening
This confrontation, together with the economic problems, is leading to an increasingly isolationist policy in Europe. Instead of an open attitude, people are clinging to what little they have. The latest events in North Africa symbolise this. Why distance yourself from dictators? After all, they stand for stability, i.e. for the status quo. It doesn’t matter whether this is inhumane or not, the main thing is that Europe doesn’t have to move. It was only at the last moment, and only at the insistence of France, that the West agreed to take action against Gadaffi. In Syria, Algeria, Yemen and Morocco, European policy is practising silence. And then there is the unspeakable refugee policy. A European Union with 500 million inhabitants has no room for a few tens of thousands of refugees from North Africa. Instead of offering maximum solidarity to the liberated and liberating countries, Europe is squirming and unmistakably giving the people of North Africa the cold shoulder.

In economics, we often talk about opportunities, chances that need to be seized. Europe is so preoccupied with itself and its fear that it does not recognise the opportunities, not even when they are right on its own doorstep. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chinese have already signed the contracts with the new and future rulers in North Africa!