Call me euroasian.
13 May'09
China became the third economy in the world, which has recently passed round Germany. Chinese yuan will be the world currency soon. The unified market of Shanghai and Hong Kong will be the World Financial Center, not New York and London. So, the first thing we should do is to recognize Ukraine as not only European country but Euroasian country too. And it is better to stop pulling faces when we hear the word «Euroasian». There is nothing wrong with this word. We are not just Eastern Europe. We may also be Western Asia. To be more precise, we can be a bridge from Eastern Europe to Western Asia, and vice versa, and this is our great potential advantage, not disadvantage.
Call me euroasian.
I want to congratulate all the staunch euroatlantics, whom I was until recently too. «German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy came at May 10 in Berlin against the infinite expansion of the EU», - reported in the news.
Friends, let's face the truth: the train to the European Union went about 15 years ago from our station. And we missed it. Everything must be done on time. You can wait for the next train to the West of course, approximately 15-20 years if it will be there at all. But you can look where other trains are going. But you have to take into consideration that they will not go to the West. They went there 15 years ago and, as I said, we missed them. Other trains are going to the East now.
China became the third economy in the world, which has recently passed round Germany. China's GDP growth in first quarter 2009 was plus 6% while the GDP’s growth of Germany - minus 4%. Those who argue, what currency would dominate in the XXI Century - the dollar or the euro - both are wrong. Chinese yuan will be the world currency soon. The unified market of Shanghai and Hong Kong (ShanKong, as it was called by Financial Times yesterday) will be the World Financial Center, not New York and London. Novelties of auto market are not running in Detroit now (may his memory live forever!) and not in Europe, but in Shanghai, because China is the largest automobile market in the world since this year. So, in conclusion I must admit, if your child is learning English, so you are lagging behind the time. Because those who are looking forward, obviously, is learning Chinese.
I am just saying that it is a very big issue whether we will desire to be in a club of aging and stagnant economies of Europe in 15-20 years, if the same Europe, both now and in future, will want to join the economic miracle that is happening in the Far East now.
So, the first thing we should do is to recognize Ukraine as not only European country but Euroasian country too. And it is better to stop pulling faces when we hear the word «Euroasian». There is nothing wrong with this word. So, the very first thing we have to do is to knock the absolute majority of negative stereotypes associated with the word «Asia» out of the head. I do not want to idealize Asia, but it is no longer Genghis Khan. Asia is the most dynamic, hard-working and most optimistic region in the world now. It is the economy, which is growing rapidly not at revalued mortgages, but at «correct» values: rooted work ethic, high savings, respect for the family, huge investments in education and infrastructure, on the understanding that human rights can not be without the responsibilities of the same human beings.
My colleague, a Korean, bought here, in Kuala Lumpur, a map, which is called «Middle East and Asia». Map includes Ukraine. Thanks God! We are not only Eastern Europe. We can be also a part of Western Asia. To be more precise, we can be a bridge from Eastern Europe to Western Asia, and vice versa, and this is our great potential advantage, not disadvantage.
But as regards the EU, if we will be able to reproduce in Ukraine the same that is happening in South-Asia now, the European Union will want us itself.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Follow Pavlo Sheremeta on twitter.com: http://twitter.com/PavloSheremeta
