Niinistö wants more self-sufficiency in agriculture and energy
Speaker of Parliament worried about possible US-Chinese trade war
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Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinistö (Nat. Coalition Party) feels that Finland needs to increase its self-sufficiency in the production of food and energy. In Niinistö's view, an unprecedented economic competition and struggle for food resources is underway in the world, and Finland needs to prepare itself for the consequences.
"Self-sufficiency is something that is worth paying for", Niinistö says.
One consequence of this would be larger agricultural subsidies, but Niinistö feels that it would be a small price to pay.
He is also in favour of using agricultural policy as a means of supporting domestic production of biological fuels, which would both promote self-sufficiency in energy, and help maintain the viability of rural areas.
Niinistö is concerned at the increasingly strained economic relations between the United States and China, which he feels could lead to serious disturbances in the world economy.
"There is a new economic and monetary distribution, and consequently, a new distribution of power in the world. There is much greater tension in relations between China and the United States than has perhaps been noticed before. The intensified competition also increases political risks", Niinistö says.
The United States has accused China of keeping the value its currency, the Yuan, at an artificially low level as a way of advancing the growth of its export industry. There have been calls in the USA for countermeasures, such as increased tariffs on Chinese products.
Sources close to the Chinese government, who were interviewed by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph on the ninth of August, said that the country might even start selling its massive dollar reserves.
Chinese officials soon downplayed the speculation. On Sunday, the Associated Press said that a representative of the Chinese Central Bank had assured the Chinese Xinhua news agency that US treasury bonds and the dollar continue to have an important role in protecting the Chinese currency reserves.
Niinistö is not convinced, however. "By accumulating more debt, the United States has left itself vulnerable to pressure, and the comments by the Chinese were no coincidence. They were a clear message. The message was: ‘keep your hands off our yuan, or else the dollar gets it.' Because of the debt relationship, China has much influence on the United States. When a creditor happens to have his thumb on the debtor, it works."
As Niinistö sees it, the Chinese do not see money merely as a way to make more money. "Money can also be used in power politics. Never in the history of the world has there been a situation in which the position of the leading economic power has been called into question because of indebtedness."
Niinistö predicts that a global competition on energy resources and raw materials will grow more intense. He considers Chinese investments into Africa to be a good example of this. He also feels that the risk of trade wars has grown.
Climate change is also increasing the risk of conflict in Niinistö's opinion. When more people, including those in the middle class in Western countries, start to suffer from the consequences of climate change, the search for someone to blame will begin.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 13.8.2007 - TODAY |
 Niinistö wants more self-sufficiency in agriculture and energy |
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