28th Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum – Countering Foreign Interference and Economic Coercion: The Experience of the Indo-Pacific
Hon. Erik Bethel emphasized the need to understand “what we are dealing with” in order to make better decisions. He pointed out the significance of culture, juxtaposing the values of the Abrahamic religion societies, like the United States, who believe that lying and cheating are bad, and the ways of the Chinese who may be interested only in winning. He cited certain stratagems that the Chinese employ to prevail, such as “clamor in the East, attack in the West”, meaning creating a distraction in someplace while doing something somewhere else. He stressed that we should not be naive when dealing with such a very different cultural paradigm and the Chinese Communist Party which has lived through the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, untethered by traditional values.
Speaking on his experiences as the U.S. representative to the World Bank, Hon. Bethel highlighted the observation that China has infiltrated the organization and other United Nations bodies. He drew attention to the fact that China is the largest recipient of World Bank loans even though it is the second largest economy with the second largest venture capital pool in the world. He explained that the World Bank exists to help impoverished nations, and that getting a loan from the WB means that one is a developing country, entitled to favorable benefits at the World Trade Organization. Hon. Bethel reiterated the importance of understanding the Chinese culture and mindset to be able to deal with China, and to make better policy decisions moving forward.
