• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

China

Lukraak_Sisser said:
The way I see it African nations have two options
Western companies, which loot their resources, do not really employ locals, destroy the local environment, bribe the countries current leaders to be allowed to do so, do not pay anything close to fair wages if they hire locals at all and ensure none of the profit is re-invested into the country they take the resources from.

Chinese companies, which do exactly the same except they re-invest a tiny part of their profit into local infrastructure.

If I were someone living in such a country I would prefer the Chinese as well, at least you're shafted a little bit less.
Click to expand...

No, these is not the only options, look at Botswana. Africans can mange their own resources, without corruption, creating a successful economy.
 
Planigale said:
No, these is not the only options, look at Botswana. Africans can mange their own resources, without corruption, creating a successful economy.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that having to point to a post-colonial state buried inside South Africa shows that Africans manage themselves well. Botswana has several lucky advantages over most of Africa, not least of which is near-complete majority of one tribal group.
 
The Atheist said:
I'm not sure that having to point to a post-colonial state buried inside South Africa shows that Africans manage themselves well. Botswana has several lucky advantages over most of Africa, not least of which is near-complete majority of one tribal group.
Click to expand...

I wondered if that might be the case, thanks for confirming it.
 
I think I'll dub the China/US position as "Tepid War". It's not adversarial enough to be called a Cold War, as China relies on renminbi diplomacy to cement an alliance as large and powerful as NATO + Allies.

Iran/Saudi dealt with, on to Russia/Ukraine.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...i-jinping-china-looks-to-dominate-world-stage

(I think it's going to take a lot more than money to fix that one, but nobody else is, either, so no loss of face in it.)
 
Irony so deep you could mine it.

China: killing Uyghurs and supporting the murderous Putin regime.

Pooh: "We demand justice for Chinese nationals murdered in Central African Republic!"

How about go **** yourself.
 
shemp said:
I assume this represents Beijing's position. If it doesn't, we'll soon see a new Chinese Ambassador to France appointed.
Click to expand...

Even if it does represent Beijing's position (and I think we all know it does), it may not have suited Beijing's purpose for their ambassador to speculate about it openly in this time and place.
 
theprestige said:
Even if it does represent Beijing's position (and I think we all know it does), it may not have suited Beijing's purpose for their ambassador to speculate about it openly in this time and place.
Click to expand...

That'd be where my money is, and I expect a change of Ambassadors once the furore dies down.

If he's not smart enough to understand the difference between CCP policy and public statements, he's crap at his job and will go.
 
One (conspiracy) theory I've seen floating around is that this was an intentional trial balloon by China. That they purposefully put these things out there to gauge the size and tenor of public reaction. Say the quiet part out loud, see how upset the public gets. See how upset other governments get. Repudiate the public statements, but privately appreciate the opportunity to keep that meme ticking along in the back of everyone's thoughts.
 
I have problems with the idea that Chinese ambassador would make a remark like that unless it had been approved by the government. Test baloon.
 
The only weird thing is that the war in Ukraine has momentarily polarized world opinion against imperialist annexations.

China shouldn't need to sacrifice an ambassador, just to check the global pulse on this topic. Unless they really are this disconnected from the gist of public opinion.
 
Orphia Nay said:
China launches new project in 20 cities to build 'new era' marriage, childbearing culture
Click to expand...

Looks like an idiotic plan to me. You can only build so many ghost cities before the industry goes kaboom.

Unless they ban contraception, their population will keep declining.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom