Over the last few days a storm of disapproval has blown up over China's growing influence around the world. The Economist led the charge in the media, emblazoning its front cover with a globe pierced by spikes to illustrate the country's supposed "sharp power", and warning within that "even if China does not seek to conquer foreign lands, many people fear that it seeks to conquer foreign minds."
CNBC followed on Monday with an article headlined "China’s trying to gain political influence abroad, and the West isn’t happy”, mentioning the US, Australia, New Zealand and Germany as countries alleging political interference, while the Financial Times cautioned that “there is growing disquiet over Beijing’s efforts to shape the way western countries think about its authoritarian model.”
Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull even deliberately echoed Chairman Mao last week by declaring that “The Australian people have stood up” when defending new laws protecting against foreign political influence.
All this outrage would be perfectly justified, if it were true that the West had a long record of abiding by the principle of non-interference, never seeking to influence other countries or mould the attitudes of their peoples. But of course the very opposite is true. Many Western countries were imperial powers, and what greater attempt to gain influence abroad could there be than to force great swathes of the globe to bow to alien peoples and accept what little liberty their new rulers left them?
During the Cold War, western countries tried to counter Soviet influence and perceptions in various ways. The effort was not always malign. In 1956, for instance, the US state department made musicians including Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong “jazz ambassadors” to show America in a better light overseas. (Although this was greeted with some wariness in the USSR, where Soviet propaganda held that “Today he plays jazz. Tomorrow he betrays his country.”)
But plenty of attempts to influence were far from benign, from the US’s condoning the coup against President Salvador Allende of Chile in 1973 and the overthrow of Cambodia’s ruler Prince Norodom Sihanouk in 1970, to the disastrous interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan this century – and far too many other instances to list here.
Sometimes they were surreptitious and underhand, such as when the British magazine Encounter was launched in 1952. Nominally supported by the Congress for Cultural Freedom in Berlin, it was in fact covertly paid for by the CIA to oppose the "spirit of conciliation and moral lassitude vis-a-vis Communism" of the left-wing New Statesman weekly – then in its heyday – and described by one agent as “propaganda” for US foreign policy. The secret was maintained until 1967. When it was revealed its co-editor, the distinguished poet Stephen Spender, resigned, and Encounter’s reputation never recovered.
So the hypocrisy is clear. What needs to be highlighted, however, is the nature of the double standard. When Russia passed a law in 2012 requiring NGOs that received funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents”, and to indicate that on publications and in presentations, there was a predictable uproar from human rights groups. This now may be extended to some media organisations, such as Voice of America and CNN. Cue more outrage that these organisations could possibly be seen as propagating an American worldview and be forced to declare so.
The US, on the other hand, sees no problem in forcing RT (formerly Russia Today) America to sign up as a foreign agent, because that is “Russia’s state-run propaganda machine”.
What this is really about is an argument about values. The West thinks its values are universal, so it's fine to push those abroad. They – by which I mean governments or individuals such as George Soros – are indignant when their proxies, or those they support financially, in other countries are labelled agents of influence.
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But when China or any non-Western country does something similar it's suspicious.
This double standard is perpetuated by the international media – which is, of course, dominated by Western companies, which are run by people with Western mindsets who take Western values for granted, and will not accept that there may be other worldviews than their own. It is therefore not one that the rest of the world should accept.
Organisations such as the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, for instance, are not neutral players. Linked to the two main US political parties, they may, in the case of the IRI, claim to be “advancing democracy worldwide” and working to “strengthen citizen voices and help make their leaders more accountable and responsive”; but it is their idea of democracy and human rights that is being put forward. They are not possessors of some objective truth. They have an agenda.
Has China sometimes been a little sharp-elbowed in the ways it has sought to exert influence in certain countries? Perhaps. CNBC quotes experts who believe that “Beijing is using education, spying, political donations and people-to-people diplomacy to gain a greater say in local decision-making”. But why is that so bad – when every country in the world with sufficient resources does exactly the same? Wanting to advance your own interests and values abroad is natural, and the fastidious will always be shocked by the means all parties occasionally use to achieve those ends.
Frankly, I see no difference between Confucius Institutes promoting China's culture and viewpoints and pro-Western NGOs backed by Western donors pushing Western universalism. Both have the right to do so. But to say the first is insidious and the second is perfectly acceptable is to say “West is best”. Surely we're past that by now?
Sholto Byrnes is a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
FIGHT CARD
Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)
Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Flyweight Corinne Laframboise (CAN) v Manon Fiorot (FRA)
Featherweight Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB)
Lightweight Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) v Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG)
Featherweight Yousef Al Housani (UAE) v Mohamed Arsharq Ali (SLA)
Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)
Catchweight 71kg Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
