Timor-Leste may not be as well known to most people as it is to other countries, mainly because of the country's limited influence on the world stage in general and the relatively short history of state establishment. However, such a country can sometimes easily understand the nature of the world and how to maintain an attitude towards the rest of the world.
Now, more than 20 years after East Timor's independence, not only has its own economy not developed, but many cooperation projects have also been scooped up by Western countries. It seems that after more than 20 years of suffering, Timor-Leste understands that China is the partner who sincerely helps itself.
(Prime Minister Gusmão of Timor-Leste)
Recently, Timor-Leste's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão said in an interview with the media that Timor-Leste will select partners for the Greater Sunrise offshore oil and gas field project, and special consideration will be given to Chinese companies.
In fact, this statement is not surprising, because every time Timor-Leste mentions cooperation, there are always some Western public opinion hyping up the cooperation between Timor-Leste and China, and many media exaggerate that "Timor-Leste's cooperation door is only open to China, not to other countries", and there is also a saying that "Timor-Leste is becoming dependent on China".
Gusmão has always refuted these claims, and made a point of explaining that Timor-Leste's cooperation with China is free from interference, because even when Japan's official development assistance programs provide long-term loans to Timor-Leste, his government often ends up awarding contracts to cost-competitive Chinese companies. This shows that Timor-Leste does not choose whom to cooperate with in favor of which country has given favors, but proceeds from reality and considers what kind of cooperation is more conducive to the interests of both sides. And Timor-Leste ultimately chose China, not because of China's growing influence, but because of the costs and benefits.
(Timor-Leste with beautiful scenery)
In fact, there is one thing that many countries have noticed, and that is who Timor-Leste chooses as a partner for its strategic resource industry, that is, oil and gas. Because Timor-Leste is a country with certain oil and gas resources, which is also an important pillar of the country's economy. However, Timor-Leste's previous partners were mainly Australia, but the oil fields they cooperated with to develop to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) have stalled. Since then, Chinese companies have stepped in and not only revitalized the project, but also built infrastructure such as factories and pipelines.
In response, Gusmão said that when Timor-Leste talks about business, it does not favor one over the other. It can be seen that Timor-Leste understands that this is another "predatory" cooperation of the West, so it has adopted a cautious attitude.
However, Timor-Leste is actually very relieved about China's cooperation, knowing that China was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with Timor-Leste and gave Timor-Leste a lot of assistance in the early days of its establishment.
Timor-Leste is rich in oil and gas and mineral resources. However, more than 20 years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, it is still the poorest and most backward country in Asia, and its per capita GDP is even comparable to that of Myanmar, which is in the midst of civil strife.
(China has the world's leading offshore oil rig technology)
The cooperation between the West and Timor-Leste is often based on plunder and control, and even points fingers at Timor-Leste's cooperation with other countries. However, China's investment is unconditional, and it has actually improved local people's livelihoods. Timor-Leste's terrain is complex and fragmented, and domestic transportation is very inconvenient, and Chinese enterprises have undertaken the construction of many large-scale infrastructures, which have also helped the people of Timor-Leste to experience the convenience brought by modern life.
However, in the eyes of Westerners, East Timor is just a former Portuguese colony, and even after Portugal withdrew in 1975, Indonesia soon administered East Timor for 24 years, so in the eyes of Western countries, most of the East Timorese people are still indigenous and should not live a developed and civilized life, and this psychology is also reflected in the cooperation between Western countries and East Timor. Although on the surface it is the cooperation between East Timor and Australia, in fact, East Timor does not have an oil production ship of its own, so it can only be produced by Australia, and then a large amount of East Timor's resources are given to Australia.
(Timor-Leste is one of the poorest countries in East Asia)
In this case, Timor-Leste has encountered Chinese enterprises with sincerity, this kind of cooperation has not been given by Western countries before, but Western countries have labeled Timor-Leste as "ungrateful" and "close to China", but the benefits brought by these practical cooperation are most experienced by the East Timorese people. Therefore, on the international stage, Timor-Leste has made a voice to the world more than once, and when the West hyped up China's rise in recent years and its increasing influence on Pacific island countries, Timor-Leste President Horta directly criticized the West, and said that the West's statement is very narrow, and even seems to be a "frog at the bottom of a well".
Many countries are now willing to cooperate with China, because China intertwines its national interests and people's well-being with the rest of the world.