IPN interview with Andrian Candu, deputy chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM) and deputy head of Parliament

  - Mister Candu, last week, when the delegation of the PDM that you headed was still in China, the press quoted you as saying that the Moldovan-Chinese cooperation relations entered a new stage? Why do you think so?

  - I would treat this issue from two angles: political and economic. China was permanently a partner of Moldova, but, unfortunately, we have been not very active in promoting the image of China and China in general here, at home. That’s why at political level we must strengthen and develop more cooperation elements, starting with the nongovernmental relations, the exchange of delegations at the level of parliamentary friendship groups, heads of state and government and foreign ministries. Why not? We also speak about the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Information Technology, etc. The PDM delegation included ICT Minister Pavel Filip. He had discussions with his Chinese counterpart and found many common points in this sector too.

As regards the economic sphere, China does not mean only products that are known by everyone as being cheap and of a lower quality. China also means products of a very good quality and advanced information technology. China means investments in various areas, but it hasn’t yet played a very important role of investor in Moldova. That’s why, by making known the opportunities exiting in Moldova and creating appropriate conditions, we should stimulate the Chinese investors to find their place in Moldova.

  - The same communiqués about the visit of your delegation said the discussions centered on the improvement of the institutional framework for cooperation between Moldova and China and on the exploitation of areas where the investments and trade can grow. Which are these areas? When and how much the investments and trade can grow?

  - I asked the Chinese colleagues how much of the US$52 billion invested by China in 2012 abroad were invested in Moldova? I didn’t need confirmation. Regretfully, the figure is very low. The Chinese investors either don’t know Moldova and the opportunities offered by it, or there are certain barriers. If things stand like this, we should analyze them separately and solve all the problems. We had the occasion of discussing with representatives of the Chinese business environment. There was staged a Moldovan-Chinese economic symposium that involved 14 companies, which are the largest in China and are more attractive for Moldova. I refer to the telecommunications and energy infrastructure, agriculture, tourism promotion, the investment funds. We presented the current Moldova compared with five or ten years ago. We spoke about the openness of the EU at political and economic levels. After the Association Agreement is signed with the EU, there will appear new economic opportunities, besides those that already exist, including free economic areas, tax concessions etc.

It is true that the institutional framework must be improved. The existing investment protection agreement is very old. As I remember, it was signed by Moldova and Chine at the start of the 1990s. It already does not regulate the modern investment protection instruments and institutions. That’s why a new agreement should be renegotiated. Also, in order to attract direct investments from China, we need a better agreement on the avoidance of double taxation as the existing one is very old and envisions rather high tax rates as regards dividends, interest and other payments. All the countries of the region use much better conditions. Therefore, this treaty should be renegotiated or at least improved in a number of areas, especially because we have advanced international models in this respect. New agreements need to be signed with the Chinese partners, not only the investors, but also those who promote investments, especially the Chamber of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Trade of China.

  - To what extent and when can the Moldovans benefit from these rises in investments and trade? Otherwise, the discussions and agreements remain something abstract …

  - The direct advantage that the Moldovans or our state will enjoy is an immediate one. New workplaces will be created when Chinese investments come to Moldova. It is a real prospect as I think that we managed to convince our Chinese partners of the opportunities existing in Moldova’s production sector, including the industrial parks or the free economic areas. Also, Moldova is well-anchored in the free trade system of the region and thus enjoys many opportunities. Moldova already enjoys concession and privileges in the export of products to the EU, which it will develop by signing the Association Agreement. Moldova also enjoys advantages in the CIS and in the bilateral relations with the countries of the former Soviet Union. Thus, the Moldovan products are sold easily, without restrictions and additional taxes. The Chinese need such a production platform.

  - You came to Parliament from business.  If you remained there, what arguments would you have used during this visit to strengthen the business relations with the Chinese partners? Why would these relations be more advantageous?

  - It’s not the case to consider a partner as more important that another one. But we must taken into account the special capacities of the Chinese investors that have a considerable financial power as well as important human resources and due to the advanced technology they use. That’s why we say that it’s good to attract at least a part of the 52 billion invested by China abroad. When we discuss about partnerships, it is very useful and good to have a common business with powerful partners. China’s last 30 years of experience in the economic sector mean a lot. They learned well and reached enviable efficiency very quickly.

  - Why do you think the bilateral relations, especially the economic ones, between the two states, which are from totally different categories and are situated very far from each other, can produce visible effects for both of the sides?

There is surely a difference, as between many other states as regards history, culture and even civilization, as we form part of different civilizations. At the same time, from the viewpoint of the state interests, there are matters that join us. They also face a problem related to the territorial integrity. They have a good neighborhood policy towards the west and all the countries from equal to equal, as Moldova. Moldova declared its constitutional neutrality, while China, even if they didn’t declare it through the Constitution, pursued a non-aggression policy over the last 20-30 years. They cope with challenges and managed to maintain peace in their region.

It is easy to understand why China would want to have relations with Moldova, which is a small country. Moldova offers the Chinese the possibility of exploring new European and Eastern markets, especially in our Balkan region. Secondly, China changes its economic model and lays emphasis on internal consumption and individual development and welfare. Over the next ten years, China will change its export model based on internal consumption. Thus, any Moldovan product of a high quality will enjoy success in China. We evidently discussed the wine issue. The consumption of Moldovan wines in China doubles from year to year. At global level, the figures are lower, but the Moldovan wines are already known in China and we will manage to export all the range of wine products to this country if we make effort. We even joked with out Chinese colleagues that if every Chinese drinks by a swallow of Moldovan wine, we will use up the reserve in several years.

  - What is China’s stance on Moldova’s European integration course?

  - We discussed Moldova’s foreign policy and the European integration objective. China is not bothered by Moldova’s European integration policy. It understands that changes will take place in different spheres when Moldova achieves its objective. If Moldova signs the Association Agreement and improves its business environment, the Chinese investors will profit from advantages in such areas as protection of investors, free movement of capital, disloyal competition, etc. Moldova, regardless of the government it had or will have, will have good relations with the East and the strategic countries, including Russia, the Middle Asia countries, evidently China.

  - In general, the period of modernization of China of the last 20-30 years is almost similar to the independence period of Moldova. China and the Chinese showed that a country with a population of almost 1.4 billion can develop, while Moldova, with its 4 million people practically didn’t take the available chances. Why is it so?

  - It is about vision and consistency in what China does. For example, 10 or 15 years ago, they set certain goals and an economic model and didn’t deviate from the set course. Moldova, unfortunately, changed its foreign policy vector once in four years, depending on the government. They try to change the people’s mentality in Moldova. They don’t do so in China. In the discussions with the Chinese colleagues, including at the highest political level possible, we were told that new political goals were set for the next 10 years. Now China has a new administration for the next 10 years and I’m sure they will keep their word.

  - In conclusion, what can we learn from them?

  - We can learn many things from the mentality of the Chinese people, which means efficiency, hard work and industriousness. I heard many things before leavening for China, but I was impressed by their cleanness, discipline and punctuality. They have an envious history, of thousands of years, and this probably leads to certain advantages compared with other nations or civilizations. We can learn many things from them and I hope that as a result of this visit, we will switch to a new stage in the relations with China at political, cultural, and economic levels. Over the next 2-3 weeks, we, those from the PDM, will submit precise proposals to the Chinese authorities so that we intensify the cooperation relations at all the levels.

Valeriu Vasilică, IPN