Brett Daniel Shehadey
Special Contributor for In Homeland Security
“…the next big step in the relationship between Britain and China—the world’s oldest civil nuclear power and the world’s fastest growing civil nuclear power.”
-British Chancellor George Osborne
Apparently China is buying everything- even nuclear power plants in the UK. British Chancellor of the Exchequer (Britain’s economic and finance minister) George Osborne has just allowed Chinese investors a right of purchase in Britain’s its once closed nuclear power plants or build more in-country. The hope is to generate revenue and potentially next generation power plants. Energy Minister, Ed Davey, expressed the hope that China, Japan and South Korea would all give a boost the UK’s energy sector.
The worry about China from the eyes and ears of an outsider is of course the nuclear technology exchange and ownership by the “communist” People’s Republic of China. But China is already a nuclear power with some seventeen plants of its own. The country mostly runs a on dirty coal. They are looking for ways to improve and diversify their energy sector but their focus is not on buying nuclear power, they are set on buying newer technology, scientists, innovation, Western trade secrets and management.
As Britain shuts the doors to its coal power plants, it hopes to replace them with more alternative energy sources like wind, solar and nuclear. One cash deal is the €14 billion Hinckley C plant. If the deal goes through, maybe as early as a matter of weeks, it will be the only nuclear power plant built in almost twenty years.
China will not start out with a majority share of British nuclear power plants, other investors throughout Europe or within the country will hold on to that, but the Chinese will eventually be able to hold 100 percent ownership- an unthinkable position for the US energy sector. Britain is not just a recipient- it will dig further through the walls of the China’s nuclear plants there as well.
What about national security? Unlike the US, Europe feels much more comfortable selling critical or even national assets with China. Europe is China’s number one trading partner. They have tried to limit a Chinese beachhead of investment attacks but through economic hardships have given way to a more open pragmatism with their Asian ‘partners.’ They are willing to take more money to allow for more concessions- even if that reduces their strategic influence or slightly jeopardizes national security.
Unlike the US, Europe has the US to fall back on for cooperative security. This also gives them comfort and confidence to focus far less on security and much more on economy than they should. On the other hand, they are rapidly removing barriers to joint ownership, whole ownership, real estate transactions and so forth- all of this allows a greater dependence on China and increased Chinese influence within their states. Meanwhile, China is transitioning to operate their own business within its borders as they continue to economically ‘invade’ the West.
The US could learn a thing or two about attracting Chinese foreign investment. It might allow for silent partnerships where China would profit from inserting cash into American companies and becoming part owner but at the same time, have no control and limited access to sensitive areas. China might not be happy about treated like a ‘second class’ buyer, but they might get over it if they could make large financial gains by investing in US infrastructure even as a silent partner without control.
Instead the US has stubbornly barred the Chinese from investing in many companies within the energy sector, for example, among others, that they could have controlled the nature of the partnership and instead received no needed cash in any capacity.
The Europeans could learn a thing from the US and pay more heed to caution.
Comments are closed.