US strategists have lately been trying to stunt its rapid development by sponsoring religious sects like Falun Gong or the Dalai Lama. Such tactics were successfully used in the ‘80s against the Soviet bloc, when the CIA and the Catholic Church worked together  to support the Solidarity movement and to fuel social unrest across Eastern Europe.

China’s sustained economic development and strong attachment to its national ideals mean that such strategies are highly inappropriate. At this point in time, American decisionmakers should ask themselves whether the CIA is still worth its more than 90 billion dollar budget – a subject that deserves analysis in a further article. What we know for sure is that Falun Gong, for example, is sponsored by New York circles. In 2002 I have personally witnessed its protest against the Chinese premier’s visit to Canberra. One of the sect's main organizers was a young Romanian from Constanta, who was driven more by Western intelligence services than by any religious beliefs whatsoever.

Through APEC and by advancing bogus proposals, Americans also try to prevent the emergence of the Asian trade bloc. Again, this sort of planning is redundant and has the potential to hurt its initiators in the years to come. Such hostile actions are not unfamiliar to EU policymakers, who have experienced the US’ opposition to both the emergence of the euro and, more recently, to their political integration agenda leading to the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. After all, the Czech premier Mr Klaus is an active member of the Mount Pelerin Society, a very influential and politically well-connected Western think-tank.

Chinese leaders generally like to deal with EU officials and do not in any way feel threatened by the latter. They resent, however, French and British support for the Dalai Lama, who is constantly fomenting unrest in Tibet – a key resource-rich border province that China will never agree to relinquish whatever the cost.

European leaders dealing with their Chinese counterparts should understand this clearly and should refrain from throwing their support behind the Dalai Lama and the Falun Gong movement. Using religious movements against communist ideology worked only as an exception, not as a rule. Chinese communism, as we all know, cannot be reduced to its Soviet version. The CIA-sponsored mujahedin movement against the Soviets, for example, ultimately led to the current protracted war in Afghanistan. The Israeli-backed religious movements from Gaza in the ‘80s, aimed at affecting Arafat’s PLO, ultimately led to the emergence of Hamas and the current quagmire in the region.

The current stance of the Catholic Church vis-à-vis China is likewise an unfortunate one. Chinese society - atheistic by our standards - is by no means inferior to ours, just different. Family bonds are stronger than in the West, respect for central authority runs high and the rapid transition to modernity has not happened at the expense of other countries. Why then would the Chinese need to embrace Christianity ? In many respects, our civilization seems more barbaric to the Chinese than theirs has ever been. Their lack of belief in God does not make them lesser humans : the US printed the belief in God on their currency, but their politicians cannot extend medical care to around 60 million citizens…

In dealing with the Chinese, EU leaders should, however, insist on the respect of individual human rights and the humane treatment of genuine dissidents. Moreover, they should make the effort to convince their Chinese counterparts that the corollary of modernization is political democracy, as the Asian tigers proved it in the ‘90s and Japan’s example proves it nowadays.

Whilst the Chinese are emerging as the EU’s main competitors in international trade, from a geo-strategic point of view China does not pose a security threat to the EU’s interests. Factoring this in, EU diplomacy should assist China in its plans to build an Asian trade bloc and an Asian currency, lending its experience in counteracting hostile US scenarios aimed at stunting its emergence.

In reforming multilateral international institutions such as the IMF or the United Nations, the EU’s officials and policymakers could assist China in obtaining a position commensurate with the country’s present economic might and international clout. Helping make China a more influential Asian power than it is currently the case would help the European Union achieve its own strategic objectives. Whilst the current US leadership apparently realises the need to abandon the hierarchical, medieval-type world leadership model in favour of a horizontal-type one, this will not happen in the absence of close Chinese-EU back-to-back cooperation.