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CCCA_V4No4_Q&A-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_Profile-FIN.qxd 10/27/10 3:01 PM Page 18 Q & A “ The number one thing America could do to stabilize its geopolitical future is to build a very strong productive ” partnership between North America and South America. doing things right. It’s how they use diplomacy, which is the That helps them. It gives them an economic or a political lifeline. assembly of different kinds of power influence into a package. But the second part of the definition [of a SecondWorld country] How are they using it in different ways? Sometimes America is in terms of socio-economic management is just as important.The winning, other times America is losing ground. smart Second World countries manage their resources well, and build a national narrative that people can buy into. Q: How does China’s experience compare to America’s early days as a superpower? Q: Another geopolitical development is the emergence of A: China is actually a very mature society but not a very mature long forgotten Latin America. How does it play into the superpower.The Chinese are learning they have a lot of money geopolitics of the Western hemisphere? and they’re throwing their weight around.That doesn’t mean they A: I had to fight to keep Latin America in the book because people know everything. They’re learning in Africa very quickly that don’t think it’s important.When people ask what are the priorities there’s a lot of resentment to sending Chinese workers to do a lot of the U.S.administration,99 per cent of people say that the U.S.has of the infrastructure projects, for example. So they are experienc- to refocus on China.They say:“We lost the plot after 9/11.” Others ing minor blowback, and they may experience major blowback. want the U.S. to work on Israeli-Palestinian peace to stabilize the One of the things I point out to Chinese people is that every Middle East and prevent more terrorism. I always say refocus on superpower experiences blowback at some point.And China has Latin America now. […] The number one thing America could do gotten very lucky so far. They’ve been very smart as well, and to stabilize its geopolitical future is to build a very strong productive have not had any blowback to their expansive foreign policies. partnership between North America and South America. But they will, and they’re starting to look very closely at what’s happening in Uzbekistan, and Iran and Sudan.They're realising Q: What about NAFTA? Should the U.S. be doing more to that no-strings-attached economic policies can have negative integrate the Americas economically? domestic repercussions.Uzbekistan is a very important geograph- A: I believe strongly that NAFTA should evolve into a North ical conduit for China in central Asia because of a gas pipeline American union and it should be called that.And one of the lessons going through it.A change the regime in Uzbekistan could pro- from the EU is that you can’t deal only in trade issues alone.You duce a government that is 100 per cent anti-Chinese, because need political integration as well.That doesn’t necessarily mean cre- China back-spent the current authoritarian regime to the hilt. ating a common Parliament like the EU has. But it’s about having laws and setting regulations and standards.After 15 years of NAFTA, Q: What separates successful Second World countries the reason why Americans call what’s happening in Mexico an from unsuccessful ones? insurgency,and some people call it a failed state,is because there has A: The smart Second World countries play the geopolitical mar- only been trade liberalization.There hasn’t been anything else.There ketplace very well in terms of the balancing of the great powers, hasn’t been a substantial increase in American or Canadian involve- and deriving as much benefit as possible from each of them. […] ment in Mexico, in terms of raising standards, or how they manage America and Europe used to dominate the investment and trade their oil and gas industry, or how do they manage social inequali- landscape of Africa,and now China is there.Now you have almost ties. None of these things have been dealt with at all because of our one-third of trade with America, one-third with Europe, one- sovereign mentality,this hands-off kind of approach.The EU would third with Asia. Smart Second World countries take advantage of never build a fence.They have the Schengen agreement obviously this rule of one-third, as I call it. So you have places like have quotas on immigration from Eastern European countries and Kazakhstan,Saudi Arabia,Libya or Brazil,which are doing a lot of Russia. […]. Most Europeans think [Turkey] shouldn’t become a trade, in almost equal amounts in these three different directions. member and it probably never will. But compare Turkey and 18 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association WINTER 2010