Western Sanction Won't Solve TIbet
Why Canada and the West Can't Threaten China Economically
This article argues that Western sanctions on China to force a resolution on the Tibet question would be ineffectual.
A dubious proposition risks taking hold of pro-Tibet organizations: that trade sanctions would allow the West to affect positive change in the CCP’s current relationship with Tibet. However, given China’s role in the contemporary global economic system, this approach would likely prove both ineffective and ultimately harmful to the West, and inevitably to the Chinese population. With specific regards to Canada, the imposition of trade sanctions would not only have little effect on the Chinese government, but would also exact a negative impact on Canada’s interests, prosperity and every Canadian’s standard of living.
The fact that Canada currently has a trade deficit with China of over $27 billion demonstrates clearly that Canada is much more economically dependent on China than it is on us. Canada’s relatively small stake in China’s economy also means that trade sanctions would exert little meaningful pressure on the Beijing government, while reciprocal action from China would be profoundly detrimental to Canadians through increased prices. The most heinous result would be a lack of affordable staple goods for the poorest in Canada who depend on their purchasing power parity to provide for themselves and their families. This situation also applies to other Western nations such as the United States, which currently has over a $1 trillion dollar deficit with China.
Conversely, the pursuit of positive economic relations with China would provide the West with an increasing stake in China’s economic interests. The West’s current economic integration with China has increased its ability to dialogue effectively with China, increasing its capacity to promote positive humanitarian practices and stronger ethical considerations in China’s development. By creating stronger ties, and engaging with China in an international and multilateral framework, economic pursuits in China would allow the West to exert more positive influence on the highly economically minded government in Beijing.
Finally, trade sanctions have frequently proven to be an ineffective political measure, and ultimately would do harm to the millions of Chinese who have seen their quality of life rise immeasurably from China’s economic boom. These people have not been involved in the Chinese government’s actions in Tibet, and it would be antithetical to the West’s altruistic motivations to harm their quality of life. Sanctions imposed upon Iraq following the first Gulf War contributed to the death of millions. The West would be wise to avoid the negative consequences of such political actions again. They are at once ineffective for achieving the altruistic goal, and harmful to the general populations of all countries involved.
