Will history repeat itself?

The announcement by Labour leader Joseph Muscat that he will visit China this April gives him an opportunity to enhance the reputation he already enjoys of one who gets things done.

I think it was more by design than a coincidence that the Chinese and Dr Muscat agreed that his visit will take place in April. It was in April l972 that maverick Labour leader Dom Mintoff shocked the Western world by being the first Western Prime Minister to visit China.

The Chinese gave Mr Mintoff and his delegation, that included Lorry Sant and Edgar Mizzi, a bigger welcome than they had given to President Richard Nixon when he visited China two months before.

The Chinese wanted to convey a message. They wanted to give full support to Malta that had declared its mission to become an instrument of peace after centuries of being used by empires as a military base.

It is interesting to note that some political historians now claim that before Mr Nixon visited China, Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu acted as go-between, mediating between Chinese Premier Chou En Lai and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to enable China to become a full member of the UN in October l971. No wonder Mr Mintoff and Mr Ceausescu were close friends!

A month before he visited China, Mr Mintoff had signed a new deal with Britain and Nato with one clear objective: That in seven years' time, Malta will, for the first time in hundreds of years, live without a military base and transform itself into a neutral and non-aligned state.

That vision could not be achieved without the economic help of countries like China and Libya.

During the Labour Administration, China translated words into deeds. It helped in the two largest construction projects Malta had ever undertaken: the Red China Dock, which is still the largest drydock in the Mediterranean, and the Marsaxlokk port project, still a big source of income for the Maltese people.

Indeed, I consider the most important moment in my political career was when, as a Labour MP, while on a visit to China, Mr Mintoff asked me to give Ġieħ ir-Repubblika to the widow of the Chinese engineer Xu Huizhong, who died while working on the Red China Dock. Such was the esteem and gratitude Mr Mintoff had for the Chinese workers who helped Malta in its hour of need.

After 22 years of a Nationalist government, relations between Malta and China have remained strong.

In this polarised island, where the two main political parties disagree on almost everything, China is an exception. Both parties agree that relations with China should be strong. The latest welcome news is the opening of the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta. However, I suspect that, while relations between China and Malta under Mr Mintoff were based on a marriage of love, today we have a marriage of convenience.

I am considered as one of the best friends of China. Probably no other Maltese has visited China as often as I did. Indeed, in some quarters in China I am known as the Maltese people's ambassador to China. Governments come and go but the people remain the same.

I shall never forget that China helped Malta when it was in need. I will always be indebted to China because when, as a young upcoming politician, I was gripped by a holy zeal to see my country wrestle itself from foreign domination and become free from foreign bases, China helped me fulfil my dream.

On the other hand, I am not the errand boy of China. I am first and foremost Maltese and it is my duty as a Maltese to spell out my views clearly and loudly.

When China is investing billions of euros in Asia, Europe and the United States I have not seen one major investment in Malta by China in the last 20 years.

China exported to Malta €116 million worth of products and services last year and the value of imports from Malta was just €27 million. It is the task of all political leaders in Malta to insist with China that this trade imbalance must be redressed. How? What can this little island sell to China?

Malta was the first country in Europe to sign an agreement to make it easier for Chinese people to visit Europe. Yet, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Malta is negligible. Hundreds of Chinese students used to come to study at our University and learn English. Now the number of Chinese students here is, again, negligible.

I was delighted when, in December last year, the Chinese shipping company, the largest in the world, started using our Freeport for trans-shipment. Last year, the company purchased the Piraeus port and half of the port of Palermo. I know they were very interested in involving themselves more actively and aggressively in Malta.

However, six years ago, the Nationalist government decided to sign a 30-year-old concession agreement with the Marseilles-based company CMA-CGM to operate and develop the Freeport. Just before the last general election, Austin Gatt extended this agreement to 6O years.

No decent government would foolishly and brazenly tie the hands of the next government before an election that could bring in a different Administration.

Now CMA-CGM is in real trouble. It has lost billions of euros. The owner, Jacque Saarde, who was also the CEO, was forced to leave and now the French government appointed three top leading French industrialists to run the company. The French government has decided to sell the non-core assets of CMA-CGM. Now is the time for Malta to act to persuade Cosco to buy these assets and secure a sound future for our Freeport.

Other areas where China could help are in joint ventures: tourism, pharmaceuticals, electronics, alternative energy, banking, financial services and logistics.

These are all areas where China is strong. I see no reason why Chinese and Maltese businessmen should not enter into joint ventures in these areas. China is keen to penetrate the European Union. Malta could be the ideal location.

What is needed is more political will.