By: Denise Simon
Gulag Bound
The last visit Barack Obama made to China did not go well such that relations have soured on the diplomatic scale. The visit to China this week consumed huge resources to lay the groundwork in advance of the trip for the 2014 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. Susan Rice spent the last weeks challenging the fact that China was so slighted during the 2009 extended trip that China has refused since to extend visas and temporary housing permits of Americans in China on business and with media.
First out of the gate, Obama delivered a most generous gift to China and that was to open a new front on visas for Chinese, from one year renewals to 5-10 years effective immediately claiming it will add to American jobs as it is touted that China infuses $80 billion yearly into the U.S economy. $80 billion is hardly a great sum or epic deal when in fact the Chinese hacking world costs the U.S. corporate industry billions and is a top concern of James Comey, Director of the FBI.
It should also be noted that Russia has been quite effective at cultivating a sustained relationship with China while China’s own economy has almost zero growth and their debt ratio to revenue ratio is stagnant cancelling out each other.
China has presented many issues that must be addressed prior to all the enhanced trade talks and global policy cooperation. China has been most aggressive towards yet other U.S. allies in Asia causing outrage and conflict in the S. China sea with regard to island and territory disputes. There is also censorship within the internet industry and continued human rights issues, both of which the White House and the State Department overlook for the sake of placing a happy face on Obama’s foreign policy strategy.
China does have issues when it comes to its own infrastructure including transportation, medical advancements, factories, power and use of energy sources like oil and gas. Each of those conditions facing China are being addressed in partnership with Russia.
Obama will also use his time in China to push for more attention and resources when it comes to Climate Change, an exclusively assigned mission given to John Podesta and investment treaties.
A topic that will likely not receive any time and attention is the Chinese relationship with North Korea and the associated human rights violations on the heels to two Americans being released from a DPRK prison allegedly managed by ODNI Director James Clapper this past weekend.
In summary, what is really behind Obama’s policy platform in China? Well with the beating he took in the midterms, his policy team has decided to focus on the economy. Obama wants Chinese money and he offered a visa pass to get their money. Going visa free in exchange for money is the common ‘go-to’ agenda of the Obama Administration. Question is, exactly who DOES benefit from the $80 billion of Chinese investment where winners and losers are predetermined by the White House.
Any foreigner willing to commit at least $500,000 and create 10 jobs in America can apply for an investor immigrant visa — also known as an EB-5.
Rich Chinese overwhelm U.S. visa program
The demand from mainland Chinese eager to move abroad has already led the U.S. government to warn the program could hit a wall as early as this summer.
Chinese nationals account for more than 80% of visas issued, compared to just 13% a decade ago, according to government data compiled by CNNMoney. That translates to nearly 6,900 visas for Chinese nationals last year, a massive bump up from 2004, when only 16 visas were granted to Chinese.
“The program has literally taken off to the point [that] in China, the minute anybody hears I’m an immigration lawyer, the first thing they say is, ‘Can we get an EB-5 visa?’ ” said Bernard Wolfsdorf, founder of the Wolfsdorf Immigration Law Group.
“There is a panic being created in China about the demand [getting] so big that there is going to be a visa waiting line,” he said.
