Prime Minister Joseph Muscat shaking hands with Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao at the Huaxi State Guesthouse in Guiyang, China, yesterday.

Malta is not selling its soul to the Chinese and whoever harbours these thoughts is failing to grasp the way China is operating in this day and age, the Prime Minister believes.

“It’s a legitimate concern but whoever thinks these are political decisions has failed to understand how China is working.

“It is seeking commercial interests over political ones,” Joseph Muscat said when asked by Times of Malta about the way Malta was cosying up to China.

Malta, he said, was strategically positioned to serve as a stepping stone for China to access the European and African markets, while having a stable base in the region.

He questioned whether German Chancellor Angela Merkel or British Prime Minister David Cameron had sold their soul when they recently held talks with the Chinese Premier to attract investment to their countries.

“The idea of antagonism towards China is a legend. All the prime ministers I know are queuing up to court China,” he said.

Dr Muscat was speaking to the media after holding private talks with Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao at the Huaxi State Guesthouse in Guiyang, China, ahead of today’s Eco Forum global conference.

He insisted the negotiations Malta had with China, over deals such as Enemalta’s partial privatisation, were not easy and nobody came with an open cheque.

“We’re working with the Chinese because they have been the quickest to act. We want, and wish to work, with other economies and we’re actively seeking other markets, whether in the US or the Gulf states.”

Another Sino Maltese project that has emerged from this relationship is the first joint renewable energy project in another European country.

Dr Muscat would not reveal the country, nor how hefty the investment would be, saying only that this involved a solar energy farm, among others, and they were close to securing a deal in the coming months.

“It’s a substantial investment that includes Chinese capital and the participation of a new Maltese vehicle that will be created.

“We’re not yet in a position to identify the country, but discussions have started to ensure this project becomes a reality,” he said.

Europe, he insisted, had no problem with such initiatives as long as the rules were observed, something Malta was “scrupulously” doing.

Another long-term project generating interest was the concept of Malta serving as a logistics base, which went beyond the Freeport and would feature the creation of free trade zones.

“Why can’t small companies that cannot afford to travel to China to order their products, but can afford to travel to Malta from Rome to buy products in bulk, do so? Malta can be a logistics centre for this,” Dr Muscat said.

However, before embarking on such a project a specific logistics policy will have to be drawn up and Dr Muscat hoped this would be completed by the end of the year.

“There are industrial zones earmarked for this. The concern is mainly one of security to eliminate abuse and ensure products intended for re-export don’t enter the Maltese market. We have to ensure the policy has a market surveillance mechanism that is good enough.”

Dr Muscat is accompanied to China by Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech, his chief of staff Keith Schembri, Labour MP Deo Debattista, Malta’s Ambassador to China Clifford Borg Marks, and the government’s envoy to Asia, Sai Mizzi Liang, among others.

Muscat wife had travel invite

Michelle Muscat, the Prime Minister’s wife, is in China on the invitation of the Chinese government, a spokesman for the OPM told Times of Malta.

Her trip, including flights and accommodation, has been fully funded by the Chinese government and a specific programme had been drawn up for her stay.

The government was asked to reply to criticism that Ms Muscat was piggybacking on her husband’s business trip using taxpayers’ money.

The flights for the couple’s twin daughters, Etoile and Soleil, were forked out by their parents.

Ms Muscat has remained in Beijing to follow her programme, while Dr Muscat flew out to Guiyang yesterday to attend today’s Eco Forum global conference. The PM and his wife will return to Malta on Sunday.