When, on January 31, 1972, the Maltese ambassador in Rome, on behalf of the government of Malta, presented his credentials to the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Rome, history was made.
Dom Mintoff, who became prime minister in June l971, was a visionary and a genius in foreign policy. He broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan, established under the Nationalist government of George Borg Olivier, at a time when the People’s Republic of China insisted on its One China policy.
Beijing accepted to set up diplomatic relations only with those countries that broke relations with Taiwan. Without looking back at how events unfolded in the international arena in the early 1970s, one cannot fully appreciate why Lord Carrington called Mintoff a genuine patriot.
The world scenario was changing. During a live television and radio broadcast in July 1971, US President Richard Nixon stunned the nation by announcing that he will visit Communist China the following year.
The statement marked a dramatic turning point in US – China relations as well as a major shift in American foreign policy.
At a plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly on October 25, 1971, Resolution 2758 was passed.
This recognised the One China principle and made it clear that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only lawful government representing the whole of China, including Taiwan.
This resolution would never have made it without US backing. Indeed, in February 1972, Nixon landed in China and spent seven days there.
The ink on the new defence agreement that Mintoff signed with Lord Carrington on March 3 that year had barely dried when, on March 31, the Maltese prime minister headed for China. The Chinese gave Mintoff a warmer welcome than they gave to Nixon.
No wonder. This little Malta of less than half a million people, which is barely visible on the world map, was determined to change itself from an instrument of war into an instrument of peace. The Labour government was determined to change its economy from one based on serving the UK and NATO into a country thriving on industry and tourism.
When Mintoff visited China and signed a financial and economic agreement, some western countries and the conservative forces in Malta, including the powerful Catholic Church led by Archbishop Michael Gonzi, shivered with fear.
The relations between Albania, a hardcore Communist country in Europe, led by Enver Hoxha, and Red China, led by Mao Zedong, began to cool in 1969 and, in 1970, China broke relations with Albania.
Dom Mintoff was a visionary and a genius in foreign policy- Reno Calleja
It was therefore understandable that when Mintoff shocked the Western world and visited China only one month after Nixon, the US and Europe suspected that China was cosying up to Malta because it had lost an ally in Europe.
This was completely false. China was impressed by Mintoff’s determination to work for peace in the Mediterranean, which was a hotbed of hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union. China helped Malta to transform its economy by building the two largest infrastructure projects, even by today’s standards.
These were the Red China Dock, which enabled large oil tankers to be repaired at the Malta Drydocks, and the Marsaxlokk Port project (the freeport), where I served as chairman of the monitoring board for a number of years.
One of the historical pictures hanging in my modest office is a photo of minister Wistin Abela and myself opening the first phase of the freeport project in 1987, before the Nationalist Party was elected to power.
Sadly, a Chinese engineer, Xu Huizhong, was accidentally killed during the building of the Red China Dock. In l978, when I was a young MP, Mintoff called me in his office and made me the proudest man in Malta at that time.
“Reno, go to Shanghai and present the honour of the Republic to the widow of Xu Huizhong,” he told me.
It was the first time that this medal was awarded posthumously. The solemn ceremony was attended by an audience of 3,000 people. I gave a speech in Maltese which was translated by the brilliant Maltese student Clifford Borg Marks, who later became Malta’s ambassador to China.
Xu is buried at the Addolorata Cemetery and, every year, I, together with the executive members of the Malta China Friendship Society, go to his grave to honour him as a martyr. On my suggestion, a street in Paola is named after Xu.
On December 13 last year, I was almost moved to tears when President George Vella awarded me the medal of the Republic, mainly in recognition for almost 50 years of work to promote relations between Malta and China.
Some years ago, during a discussion with a Chinese minister, he asked me: “Reno, why do you love China so much?” I answered:
“Because I love Malta more. China has always helped Malta without any strings attached.”
His body language suggested he was amused with my answer. He grasped my hand and told me: “Reno, China has a marriage of convenience with some countries. With Malta, we have a marriage of love.”
In my view, these words encapsulate the unique relationship that exists between Malta and China.
Reno Calleja, former Labour minister and president of the Malta-China Friendship Society