Foreign investors require the reassurance of the rule of law and so they must have it, in the form of propaganda.

By Probe International

China’s leadership understands the importance of the rule of law for the country’s economic development and international engagement. Foreign investors require it. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) unfortunately cannot tolerate the rule of law but the Party can abide propaganda.

This article by the state-owned China Daily is designed to offer foreign investors reassurance that China respects the rule of law. Rather than reassurance, “Rule of Law Lifts Business Environment” reveals how worried the Party is about losing foreign investment due to the absence of rule of law. On analysis, what sounds good is the reverse. Every statement made in “Rule of Law Lifts Business Environment” is a falsehood.

For example:

In the past decade, various reforms and measures in the realm of legislation and law enforcement have been put in place to boost law-based governance in China.

The reverse is true: the reality is rule by the CCP. Commanding the rule of law is not the same as a neutral system of laws, institutions, and norms. Foreign investors know this.

Of particular concern to the CCP is the country’s PV (photovoltaic) sector, which is currently under pressure from international sanctions for its heavy subsidies and violations of Fair and Free Trade regulations, hence the inclusion of this example:

For instance, a dispute between a photovoltaic power enterprise and a Beijing-based financial leasing company was successfully resolved with the aid of the office.

The photovoltaic power enterprise obtained more than 700 million yuan in financing from the Beijing company for upgrading its power generation equipment in 2022. However, due to the breakdown of the capital chain, it was unable to repay the loan on time, leading to the Beijing enterprise suing it in the court. After trial, the power enterprise was ordered to pay off the loan.

Reading between the lines, our conclusion is that the PVs failed and that’s why the purchaser did not repay the loan.

With its mention of “low-carbon policies” and “new energy industry,” China Daily gives climate change a plug because greenwashing is the CCP’s go-to saviour for bad behaviour. Western governments have lapped up the Party’s empty talk and promises. Although Europe appears lost, anticipated changes in leadership for both the United States and Canada will finally pull the plug on the CCP’s weaponization of climate policy to weaken the West and advance its own agenda.

Crucial to the rule of law is privacy and information, and on both those counts China gets a 0 out of 10. A good indication the CCP will not deliver.

Further Reading

China’s Energy Dream

The Truth About China (pdf)

The Red and the Green: China’s Useful Idiots (pdf)

The Road from Paris: China’s Climate U-Turn (pdf)

Eco-Fundamentalism as Grist for China’s Mills (pdf)

The Worm in the Rose