There’s plenty to criticize China for, but accusing them of colonizing Africa is wild. Either way though third world countries can’t be too picky about who they get their capital from; if they’re choosing China that’s because that’s where they found what they consider the best deal they could get.
Uh… I’m sorry to tell you this but this article only improved my opinion of China. Which part of this was I supposed to read and say “those dastardly colonialist Chinese” again?
China is doing the same thing the US did for decades, which is giving out loans to developing countries to pay US/Chinese companies to build infrastructure that they may not fully need, and then using the spiraling debt repayment as leverage to exert pressure for those countries to give US/China favorable trade deals.
Yes, those countries get immediate benefits, but it is unclear whether the long-term results are positive or negative.
BRI is almost certainly economic colonization. Is that nicer than European colonialism? Yes. Will it have negative effects on African nations? We shall see…but I think it’s likely. It’s like that megaport China is building in Myanmar: it’s way more capacity than Myanmar needs. Maybe a debt trap, maybe a way to continue shipping through there in return for maintenance that Myanmar can’t afford. Maybe just a big Chinese billboard on the coast.
Any reading list I proffer might be accused of bias, your own search is probably best. My admittedly cursory understanding is a sort of asymmetrically beneficial soft debt trap colonisation of resources and services is proceeding throughout the continent. All sprinkled with a few examples the more old fashioned hard colonisation of the whip. Sadly none of it is likely good for Africans, just as what went before. This all may be a simplistic interpretation but I doubt Chinese minds lay awake at night thinking of ways to help Africa. But Western sleep is not much disturbed in this way either.
My admittedly cursory understanding is a sort of asymmetrically beneficial soft debt trap colonisation of resources and services is proceeding throughout the continent.
That’s the propaganda spin, but it’s worse than wrong—it’s unfalsifiable. Any loan given to an African nation for any reason can and will be sold as debt trapping with no falsifiable explanation of what that actually means.
I doubt Chinese minds lay awake at night thinking of ways to help Africa. But Western sleep is not much disturbed in this way either.
Obviously, but China’s interests align with those of African countries somewhat more than those of the West, since the latter wants cheap resources while the former wants middle class markets for its goods. Either way though there’s a far cry between non-altruistic loans and neocolonialism.
I hope you are right, you speak of propaganda and I do wonder if the worst case scenario I am imagining were to be the case then those perpetrating it would wish it not to be widely known and would write papers about how ludicrous the notion of debt trap economics was. I suppose you pay your money and you pick your propaganda. I tend to think the ones walking into another country with a great deal usually wear quite dark hats.
While letting China recolonise.
Infrastructure versus genocide. There may be a difference there.
Just like all the other African countries “let” Europe colonize them in the past? /s
Why address the consequences of colonialism if you can just blame someone else for maybe doing it in the future?
They are doing it today.
America has been doing colonialism for 80+ years.
So all other countries are absolved of guilt? And may do it too?
We gotta fix the first problem before moving onto smaller problems.
There’s plenty to criticize China for, but accusing them of colonizing Africa is wild. Either way though third world countries can’t be too picky about who they get their capital from; if they’re choosing China that’s because that’s where they found what they consider the best deal they could get.
“accusing them is wild” “Can’t be picky” -> African nations are coerced and exploited.
Just because your cultural enemy isn’t doing it doesn’t mean it isn’t immoral colonialism.
I mean I’m willing to believe it is; I just haven’t seen any evidence for that.
All the nationalized companies being sold out? All the infrastructure? China owns so much in Africa and Africa can’t afford it.
Got anything I can read about this?
Idk how good CNN is, since I’m not American. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/26/china/china-african-loans-development-belt-and-road-intl-hnk This is just an example, but if you search just a little, you’ll find a lot.
Uh… I’m sorry to tell you this but this article only improved my opinion of China. Which part of this was I supposed to read and say “those dastardly colonialist Chinese” again?
China is doing the same thing the US did for decades, which is giving out loans to developing countries to pay US/Chinese companies to build infrastructure that they may not fully need, and then using the spiraling debt repayment as leverage to exert pressure for those countries to give US/China favorable trade deals.
Yes, those countries get immediate benefits, but it is unclear whether the long-term results are positive or negative.
BRI is almost certainly economic colonization. Is that nicer than European colonialism? Yes. Will it have negative effects on African nations? We shall see…but I think it’s likely. It’s like that megaport China is building in Myanmar: it’s way more capacity than Myanmar needs. Maybe a debt trap, maybe a way to continue shipping through there in return for maintenance that Myanmar can’t afford. Maybe just a big Chinese billboard on the coast.
I think you need to do a little more reading.
Got any recommendations?
Any reading list I proffer might be accused of bias, your own search is probably best. My admittedly cursory understanding is a sort of asymmetrically beneficial soft debt trap colonisation of resources and services is proceeding throughout the continent. All sprinkled with a few examples the more old fashioned hard colonisation of the whip. Sadly none of it is likely good for Africans, just as what went before. This all may be a simplistic interpretation but I doubt Chinese minds lay awake at night thinking of ways to help Africa. But Western sleep is not much disturbed in this way either.
That’s the propaganda spin, but it’s worse than wrong—it’s unfalsifiable. Any loan given to an African nation for any reason can and will be sold as debt trapping with no falsifiable explanation of what that actually means.
Obviously, but China’s interests align with those of African countries somewhat more than those of the West, since the latter wants cheap resources while the former wants middle class markets for its goods. Either way though there’s a far cry between non-altruistic loans and neocolonialism.
I hope you are right, you speak of propaganda and I do wonder if the worst case scenario I am imagining were to be the case then those perpetrating it would wish it not to be widely known and would write papers about how ludicrous the notion of debt trap economics was. I suppose you pay your money and you pick your propaganda. I tend to think the ones walking into another country with a great deal usually wear quite dark hats.
Like you fucking care lmao. Your whole welfare is based on your country doing imperialist shit in other countries. Have some fucking shame.
Russia. Putin, as Lenin‘s heir, is of course the guarantor of liberation from imperialism.
China must be better than the former colonial europeens powers if the african countries accept political and economical neocolonialism