International Chinese Debt-Trap Diplomacy: Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative Turns 10 Years Old

Wow, they actually went through with it, even after publicly admitting that Filipino tax-payers gonna be paying ten times more to repay the Chinese loan rather than the more reasonable Japanese loan:


Philippines gets China loan for Chico River Pump Irrigation Project
Ian Nicolas Cigaral - April 12, 2018

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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines on Tuesday signed a loan agreement with China to help fund the construction of the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project in Northern Luzon, and a separate accord on economic and technical cooperation.

In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Finance said the loan deal, which was sealed on the sidelines of the four-day Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, China, is worth $62 million (about P3.135 billion).

The interest rate on the US-dollar denominated loan is 2 percent per annum with a maturity period of 20 years, inclusive of a seven-year grace period, the DOF said.

The agreement, which covers 85 percent of the total contract amount of $73.04 million (approximately P3.689 billion), will be implemented by the National Irrigation Administration.

The project’s total cost is $86.57 million (P4.372 billion).

The irrigation project will provide a stable supply of water to around 8,700 hectares of agricultural land, benefit 4,350 farmers and their families, and serve 21 barangays in the provinces of Cagayan and Kalinga in Northern Luzon.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia earlier admitted that Chinese soft loans, which carry 2-3 percent interest rates "at best," are more expensive than Japanese loans that only have 0.25-0.75 percent rates.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2...hina-loan-chico-river-pump-irrigation-project

Hesus Kristo!!

10 times more than what the Japanese offer. And his supporters still thinks he is doing good.

Dutertards
 
I regret entering this thread. Japan's term seems more like "let's be friend, friend". China just pumped untold millions to philippian politicians to get this loan approved.

Its really depressing I bet his voters can only say naduterte kami!
 
Its really depressing I bet his voters can only say naduterte kami!
One of the few reasons I can't start a podcast is it would devolve into an hour of truths and insults that would end up me dead in a ditch.
 
One of the few reasons I can't start a podcast is it would devolve into an hour of truths and insults that would end up me dead in a ditch.

I think its going to be more dangerous moving forward.
 
...no names of these "good colonialism" supporters? So I guess you WERE wrestling with a strawman then?

That was specifically aimed to your Panama Canal example, it was certainly not a strawman, you claimed that the western powers play catch and release but the Chinese were pitbulls that never let go. The Torrijos-Carter treaty had nothing to do with benevolence.

Of course the deals are sweet, I even listed a few myself, and that's why this long game is so effective. The debtor, debtee, and every greasy palm in between got exactly what they wanted in the first place. I'm quite surprised that you even bring up the court, as if there's any legal dispute at all, when in reality everybody caught in the debt trap are quietly signing their collateral over for a discount when the loan is due. No fuss, no muss.

Thats a dangerous long game, since if the corrupt governments fall from grace then they are going to lose their collateral and the new government will likely be hostile to the Chinese.

Thats why the west moved on to debt slavery as opposed to taking collateral, even if the corrupt government falls, the money is still well stored in western banks.

Like the 100 billions the US kept from Iran or Gaddafi's billions in Europe.
 
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That was specifically aimed to your Panama Canal example, it was certainly not a strawman, you claimed that the western powers play catch and release but the Chinese were pitbulls that never let go. The Torrijos-Carter treaty had nothing to do with benevolence.



Thats a dangerous long game, since if the corrupt governments fall from grace then they are going to lose their collateral and the new government will likely be hostile to the Chinese.

Thats why the west moved on to debt slavery as opposed to taking collateral.


The Chinese will ensure that the puppet government they installed won't collapse they will use the threat of military force against coup plotters or against external interference just like what they did with Maldives.
 
The Chinese will ensure that the puppet government they installed won't collapse they will use the threat of military force against coup plotters or against external interference just like what they did with Maldives.

Indeed, but thats a big gamble as enforcing that kind of crap also costs money and can bog you down.

I certainly feel that China is going to cause a lot of suffering by propping up dictators like the Soviets did but with more money, but i think China will modernize, they are too smart to be kept in check by one individual.
 
Indeed, but thats a big gamble as enforcing that kind of crap also costs money and can bog you down.

I certainly feel that China is going to cause a lot of suffering by propping up dictators like the Soviets did but with more money, but i think China will modernize, they are too smart to be kept in check by one individual.

It is indeed a big gamble on their part but this is the best that they can do right now and they are taking the initiative or be left behind they still don't have an uber militar like the US so they will rely on tactics like this.

This is their strength right now but ironically these is also their biggest weakness imo. Because if the mighty ole USA start to become regime changing happy again their ain going to block the 7th fleet like what they tried to pull of againts India in the Maldives incident.
 
Wonder where they got that playbook from.........
Yeah, this is textbook IMF/World Bank shit scribed by Anglican pens

It's deplorable but I can't blame China, per se.

I'd like to see these practices end all together, but this is the game the big nations play, that's just fact.

Either the big boys need to get together and end this (lol not happening) or the West needs to do better than accusing the Chinese of doing precisely what we have been doing since WWII ended.

You know that kid on the playground that throws a punch and bitches when he gets hit back?

That's about what we are looking like with this kind of response
 
Sri Lanka's currency suffers as debt trap deepens
China-financed infrastructure projects put country in vicious cycle
YUJI KURONUMA, Nikkei staff writer April 29, 2018

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With his country's currency having lost nearly 20% of its value against the dollar since 2015, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe visits a Chinese-funded reclamation project in Colombo in January.


NEW DELHI -- Sri Lanka, which has loaded up on Chinese-funded infrastructure, is sinking deeper into a debt trap as its currency weakens and economic growth decelerates to its slowest pace in 16 years.

The Sri Lankan rupee has depreciated 3% against the greenback this year to 157.4628 per dollar, according to forex data that the country's central bank tracked on Friday. It is at its weakest point ever and has softened nearly 20% since President Maithripala Sirisena took office in January 2015.

About half of Sri Lanka's loans are denominated in foreign currency. As a result, "any further weakening of the rupee will increase the rupee value of maturing foreign exchange debt and interest payments" -- driving the government's financing needs higher, said Alex Holmes, an economist at Capital Economics.

The country is caught in a vicious cycle: Investors devalue the rupee over concern about government debt, which then increases the nation's obligations even further.

Falling tax revenue prompts another concern as the economy grew 3.1% last year, the slowest since a contraction in 2001. In the October-December quarter, growth was also sluggish at 3.2%.

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The nation of over 20 million people holds some of the highest debt levels in Asia. International Monetary Fund estimates for 2018 peg the island's debt at 11.23 trillion rupees ($71.9 billion), or 77% of gross domestic product. The country's debt payments are forecast to hit 14.1% of GDP this year, while revenue is only expected to equal 14.4%.

Sri Lanka floated $2.5 billion in dollar-denominated sovereign bonds this month, its largest issuance ever and close to its $2.8 billion in payment obligations from April through June.

Raising revenue in the near term will be difficult as the economy slows. Shiran Fernando, chief economist at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged that "growth is a concern," though he expects government measures will ease the situation. "With the new Inland Revenue Act [which took effect in April] to improve tax revenue and focus on improving exports and foreign direct investment ..., policymakers can prepare for it," he said.

The island has used debt to fund the construction of harbors, airports and roads. But Sri Lanka at present can cover its obligations only by taking on more debt, leading many to think the government will have to sell off national assets. The IMF has encouraged Sri Lanka to trim spending by state-run enterprises through reforms and reduce its debt through asset sales.

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Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, in southern Sri Lanka, is called "the world's emptiest airport." It has four scheduled flights per week.

The process has already begun. Sri Lanka sold a 99-year lease to China in December granting rights to a harbor in the southern town of Hambantota in order to write off $1.1 billion in debt.

For Beijing, which wants to establish footholds in the Indian Ocean, the financial deterioration of a maritime nation like Sri Lanka provides a golden opportunity. The lease sparked a backlash from regional rival India, since it offers China a potential harbor for its naval vessels.

"We had to make a decision to get out of this debt trap," said Mahinda Samarasinghe, the ports and shipping minister of Sri Lanka.

But Sri Lanka has not climbed out of the trap yet. The country also is weighing whether to lease the rights to nearby Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, which only began operations in 2013.

Both projects are officially named after previous President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a pro-Beijing politician who used Chinese money to build each. The Export-Import Bank of China, for example, funded $190 billion of the airport's $290 billion price tag.

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The airport could provide an air base for Beijing only a stone's throw from India. New Delhi seeks to win rights to the airport as well, but China holds the stronger claim as a creditor.

China also has financed infrastructure projects in Pakistan and the Maldives. A former president of the Maldives has said the small archipelago nation is also caught in a debt trap. Beijing stands as the main creditor to both countries, whose debts equal 67% and 71% of GDP, respectively. No Chinese naval ports have been identified, but Beijing could easily obtain strategic assets through debt-equity swaps such as in Sri Lanka.

Former Chinese President Hu Jintao referred to the Strait of Malacca, where the Indian Ocean exits to the rest of Asia, as a dilemma since it serves as the lifeline through which 80% of his country's oil imports passed.

Current President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Friday and Saturday in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Though they sent messages of their defusing tensions, no end is in sight for the contest to dominate the Indian Ocean, which New Delhi views as its own. Sri Lanka's asset sales to China could reignite tensions, with the country's debt pile tipping the region's geopolitical scales.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Sri-Lanka-s-currency-suffers-as-debt-trap-deepens
 
I mean, the West already benefited bigly from economic colonialism before supposedly (hint, hint) outlawing it. It's only fair that world powers in other areas of the world get to reap the same benefits from their predatory loans and odious debts.



Did you support TPP? Just curious.

Nice troll comment almost believed it.
The Africans have already seen things like this happened over and over and over again in the 19th and 20th century, so they will have no excuse for not knowing when the mineral mines listed as collateral changes ownerships.

It's all "equal footing" between the "friends" until it's time to pay up those nonserviceable loans, and then Beijing gonna be the new proud owner of those Cobalt mines that all car companies gonna be fighting over soon.


Namibia president says China not colonizing Africa
March 31, 2018

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BEIJING (Reuters) - Namibia President Hage Geingob said China is not colonizing Africa and that growing cooperation between the world’s No. 2 economy and Africa benefits both sides, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.

The report said Geingob, currently on a state visit to China, said “comments smearing bilateral cooperation” between China and Namibia are “doomed to fail.”

“We are mature, we can choose our friends, we can choose what we want for, and what’s good for us,” Geingob said.

Africa has been a region of focus for Beijing’s quest for greater global influence, with billions of dollars being pumped into infrastructure projects in the continent. Some critics have questioned China’s motives, however, accusing it of seeking to secure key raw materials such as oil and minerals.

In March, then-U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned African countries should be careful not to forfeit their sovereignty when they accept loans from China. He said at that time that if an African government “gets into trouble” after accepting a Chinese loan they could lose control of its infrastructure or resources through default.

China has repeatedly rejected accusations that it is only interested in Africa for its mineral resources and said its no-strings-attached aid programs are widely welcomed.

Geingob also told Xinhua that China-Africa cooperation is on equal footing and that China’s investment in his country is not just “digging out resources.”

“No country in the world has added so much value to our products as China has. China has done a lot of technology transfer and job creation,” the Namibian president told Xinhua.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...nizing-africa-china-state-media-idUSKBN1H80TY

Even if they are he would be paid tons of money and might sell out his country resources and labor.

China should also focus on safe spaces, trans rights and Chinese privilege.
 
This debt trap is ittentional the leaders of the country who loaned know whats up its part of the plan its the plan.
 
This debt trap is ittentional the leaders of the country who loaned know whats up its part of the plan its the plan.

They have to know, especially when it comes to things like a $10-Billion deep-water port for a fishing village:

 
They have to know, especially when it comes to things like a $10-Billion deep-water port for a fishing village:



They are litteraly selling their countries sovereignity to China.

Its China's plan to legaly gain control.

images
 


An egotistical president, an influx of foreign cash, and a massive pile of debt led to Sri Lanka handing over an entire port to China in December 2017, on a century-long lease.

That handover gave China a strategic foothold just 100 miles from its rival India, akin to how the Soviet Union’s foothold in Cuba raised US blood pressure during the Cold War. Chinese submarines have already appeared there.

But now new details have emerged, including the news that despite ceding the port, Sri Lanka is more indebted to Beijing than ever thanks to the high interest rates on its existing loans. This year, the country owes nearly $13 billion, out of a forecast revenue of less than $14 billion.

Such a vulnerability to global influence is one reason China spent millions in 2015 trying to re-elect the Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who signed off on many of those debts, lost his office, and is now plotting a return to power.
 
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I'm more concerned about their Confucius Institutes and the Chinese immigrants they support. But debt traps are a problem too. I suspect though that China is going to hit the wall demographically and economically before they can establish a long term empire.
 
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