In 1973, Alan Peyrefitte, a French journalist, following his return from a trip to China, wrote a book with the above mentioned title, originally attributed to Napoleon in 1816.
Bothe Napoleon as well as Peyreffite where visionaries, and where perfectly right, but not listened to, for China has awakened.
Whatever field we are looking at, China is ominously present, her objective being in the middle of the twenty first century, the world leadership, and this is well on its way.
This month of March 2014, the French government was congratulating itself with the signature of an 18 billion Euro contract with China, aeronautical, automobile, nuclear energy, finance, environment, health, everything is on the table and the government prides itself on the consolidation of the French-Chinese partnership!
The technological transfer is Chinas ultimate target, which, in less than thirty years, won’t need to import a single thing from the rest of the world…
But the worst of all this, it’s when our Chinese friends, which nevertheless, remain our friends, take roots in our territory, they will not need to invade Europe in the next few decades, since they will already be in place, gently without a weapon and under the applause of complacent governments!
As far as we are concerned, us, amateurs of wines and Grand Crus, we deplore the loss of our heritage. Event though we are happy with the annual increase of our wine exports towards China, excepting this year, we willingly close our eyes on the hidden part of the iceberg. Over the last 5 years Chinese investors have bought out 75 properties in the Bordeaux region.
But this is also true for the Burgundy, Loire, Cotes du Rhone, Provence regions, only the Champagne vineyards are resisting the invasion, but for how long?
The icing on the cake arrived on March the 21st of March, when China renounced on its antidumping investigation of French wines imports. A great sigh of relief blew over wine exporters, but what’s the price to pay? The highest one, since European firms have to give China technical assistance on equipment, materials and all its agricultural and wine making know-how.
Some wine professionals are happy with this agreement, seeing in it a potential increase in wine exports, but they seem to ignore the figures or are closing knowingly their eyes, since wine sales to China have declined, and will continue to decline little by little each year.
Being on the offensive, China could be the sixth world wine producer in 2016 and in 2030 she shall be the… all that will be left for us to export will be our Grand Crus, for I hope, that in this domain we shall never be caught up.
It is time for France to wake up, before becoming a new Chinese province.
