PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad may be bringing an olive branch to improve bilateral ties with China in his second trip in April after his hard-hitting “we do not want a new version of colonialism” in August 2018.

But the onus is for China to come clean on why the Belt and Road Infrastructure projects prices were inflated, the terms lopsided and unfavourable to Malaysia and strange payment terms like fixed time scale and not for work done.

For more than half a century since World War 2, the US has dominated the world through its political, economic and military might. The 20th century is undoubtedly the American century.

Since 1944 and after the Bretton Woods Agreement, the US dollar became the most dominant currency in the world. 

It became the reserve currency after Richard Nixon removed the gold standard in 1971. After 1973, when oil was traded in dollar, it also became the commodity currency of the world.

Having the dollar as the world currency gave the US many advantages. It could strike terror into nations, threatening to cut off from dollar-based global payment system through the denial of the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) code.

Nations like Iran, Russia, North Korea and now Venezuela have been victims to this dollar tyranny.

As an economic power, the US could woo smaller and Third World nations into its preferred trading nation policy and to keep these nations in its good books.

Nations are often armed-twisted to vote support at the United Nations. Nations that refused to toe the line or stood at the other side of the curtain faced sanctions.

Economic hitmen were deployed to bankrupt nations. When the hitmen failed, financial and economic sanctions followed. Troop deployment would be the ultimate but rarely necessary because the dollar has already become a powerful weapon.

The dark side of the American century unfortunately witnessed proxy wars fought over resource-rich nations.

Nations rich in natural resources have been poor due to civil wars supported insidiously by conflicting sides of the superpowers. Ironically, proxy wars in Latin American nations that tormented innocent local populace ended one by one with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

More than 70 years after WW2, US domination and influence is on its decline. Consensus among experts is that power has begun to shift from the West to the East, with China leading the pack of Asian countries recording much higher growth globally.

Much has been discussed about an Asian century replacing the American century. Asian countries have every reason to rejoice and welcome the power shift.

China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR), also known as BRI, has been welcomed as a necessary complement to the rising Asian economies. Nations left out of the BRI were in awe.

China’s fast economic rise and leadership in the much-anticipated Asian century is undisputed and welcomed. Empires of the past have always been hegemonic and predatory. They reaped and plundered along with their offer to do good and even promised a way to heaven for the less civilised.

UN conventions after WW2 would not allow outright evil plunder as in the past. But the arrogance and hegemonic influence of the US could be seen in many Third World nations being bullied and yielded to its wish over the decades.

There is no need for China to be hegemonic, whether overt or covert, in its much-welcomed leadership role.

Assurance from China to other Asian nations and BRI participants that it has never conquered a country and never an aggressor militarily is not enough. Neither is raising sympathy it had been humiliated by Western powers the past century. Deeds and results count.

The uncovering of the secret red files for BRI infrastructure projects detailing the lopsided contractual agreement and the unfavourable terms has shocked Malaysians.

Previous exuberance of being in China’s favour to participate in the BRI has now turned into a nightmare.  It is now more apparent that Western critics are right in their oft-repeated criticism about debt trap.

Meanwhile, Malaysians have to face the brunt of a global economic downturn and the passing of debt burden to our next generation.

While the olive branch may be carried to Beijing in April, it is China’s onus to reclaim moral leadership and magnanimous in doing the right thing. – February 21, 2019.

* Captain Dr Wong Ang Peng is a researcher with an interest in economics, politics, and health issues. He has a burning desire to do anything within his means to promote national harmony. Captain Wong is also a member of the National Patriots Association.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.