Happy holidays and hope you all can spend some time with family. Enjoy this extra long video treat and don’t forget to check out Brilliant, which would make a great last minute gift and/or project for your winter holiday: brilliant.org/polymatter 🎄
In my country (Rwanda, in Africa) we have the benefit of a ruthlessly efficient government. Part of that, is making really good deals with China. Part of the deal is Chinese firms need their workers to have a Rwandan majority. As Africans we can't really blame China when they give us bad deals. Europe and America give us much worse deals all the time. That's just how capitalism works. No one is out for our best interests, they just want a slice of the most resource rich continent on the planet. We need to look to our governments to make better deals. That's my take.
Sounds about right... Those who do business in Africa usually don't invest but work one-sided deals in fear of losing money. Typical capitalistic greed. If people invest in who they are working with, then maybe a better business outcome will be achieved.
Doing "good deals" with a country unfortunately isn't enough. Developed countries need to do the deals with the right people in the country. For example, the U.S. did "good deals" with Iran through the Shah up through 1978 because he was the internationally recognized ruler of the country. As the undisputed monarch ruler of Iran, it was simply assumed that he would know what's best for "his people." However, Iranian revolutionists during the end of 1978 saw the U.S. as a complicit agent of the Shah and made it a point to expel U.S. (and British) contractors in Iran who were there to help build out Iran's oil, construction, and defense infrastructure. Though the ruling Khomeini's of Iran did deals behind the scenes with the U.S. (for example, the Iran-Contra deals during the mid-80s), it was better politically for them to demonize the U.S. publically because of the history with the Shah.
Sounds much more like what humans have been doing since the beginning of age, ppl will unmask themselves to others when given a huge advantage and power, especially when there's money involved
Your (African) governments get overthrown the vast majority of the time that they want to make their countries better so that western (usually France) countries can keep exploiting Africa for their resources unabated
South African here. I think I can add something. If you're into history, you should consider making a video about South Africa's apartheid regime. Many people don't know that the US, the UK, France and Italy continued to support and sell arms to the South African apartheid government despite a UN embargo. This fuelled a 26 year war against African liberation movements in Southern Africa, which is referred to as the South African Border War. The result was that the apartheid regime in South Africa protected western assets from the native Africans going back since colonial times. The fear was that the "communists" would come in and take over control since African liberation movements were mostly supported by Russia, China and Cuba. So, the US, the UK, France and Italy were basically supporting an extremely racist and oppressive regime in order to continue exploiting African countries. In a nutshell, that's why we rather do business with China. We see it as the lesser of evils. Most African governments don't trust Western countries because countries like the US, the UK, France and Italy "secretly" supported apartheid, and exploited Africans for centuries. When I say "secretly", I do so sarcastically. It was all well documented in research journals, where you'll get the actual truth instead of Western news media rubbish. These are obviously facts most people in the West prefer to conveniently filter out from their narrative when they go on about how much they are concerned about Africans. They don't really care. Western governments and industries just don't want anyone else to get in on their action because they would like to assume that every other culture has the the same exploitative and cruel intentions than them. So, when they criticise countries like China, I tend to rather look at it as Freudian projection. So, when they talk about China on CNN, Fox, DW or the BBC, I know that it's mostly their corporate insecurities feeding that narrative. They hardly ever give you "the news." It's corporate propaganda and little else.
I guess you never lived under CCP controlled country. Wait until you have a real taste of what it feels like under CCP censorship - no free speech, no criticism of government… all views must be inline with dictator Xi who even ban Winnie the Pooh.
@@henryshen1156 don't describe China as hell ,many countries would like to have the same prosperity as China, as dictatorship there are a lot of it in this world, the perfect world does not exist yet ,let other people develop their countries, have a better life ,the politics, it's just a come and go,people knows when to change it.
@@mao77fr China was on the right path before Xi took over in 2012. We lived in China in 60-80s and later mid 2000s. The culture revolution in the 60s really wreck the country. Things changed to the better when China opened up in mid 80s. The country went thru rapid development especially after joining WTO. China had vibrant economy and fairly freedom of speech. Unfortunately, lots were changed since Xi took power. His ideology is more like Mao. China under Xi is becoming more and more like North Korea. His policy and dictator style is making china now repeating some of horrible history (we call it culture revolution 2.0.) just wait and see in 10 years. China will become another North Korea on steroid unless the top leader is replaced.
@@henryshen1156 i did live in China and I say you only have a tunnel view. You are brainwashed by those “Democracy and Freedom” thing. It’s like, who cares. Lifting people from poverty is way more important. You are free to eat bullets and take drugs in some countries. Enjoy your life there.
This video is everything, as a Kenyan many in my country keep talking about the debt trap, when it is the leaders looting these loans & putting us in the trap. The projects that have been successfully completed have greatly changed peoples lives & boosted the economy to the top 5 in AFRICA. While there are lingering issues to do with Chinese employment practices, the money provided is invaluable Thank you China
Debt trap is a propaganda. There is not bank that trap people with debt. If a loan deflaut, it is the bank which is trapped, not the borrower. Assets simply act as collateral here. It is common practice to have collateral in every part of the world.
In China, the government still like to remind the people how the African nations helped them to get a permanent seat in UN back in 1971. China loves Africans, after all they suffered a lot from colonization. Yes, colonizers not settlers. Oh by the way, it's called bribing, not lobbying.
Well explain WHY?? China is in Africa in the 1st place govingAfricas government a predatory loan with interest so high they will never be able to pay it back .? Why are Chinese men in Africa impregnating African women and leaving them behind? Why is China building businesses in Africa and keeping Africans from shopping in them.Why are Chinese migrating in Africa? That's not their heritage,custom or land!! Why are Chinese men beating Africn men boys with stickers and whips?? China has not good intentions for Africa period!!!! Times have changed.Chna has more sinister intentions while in Africa..
Great video. I actually made a summary of the Sri Lankan Hambantota port for my friends and family. Here it is... 1. The Port still belongs to Sri Lanka. China paid over one billion USD to LEASE and operate it for 99years, and they don't have full control. Sri Lanka still has a stake in this venture. 2. Sri Lanka has more LOANS with Japan AND World Bank, than they do with China. Why don't we ever hear of a Japanese "debt trap"? 3. The Hambantota Port was built by Chinese firms in 2007. But even before China got involved, in 2003 the Canadian Devt Agency financed a feasibility study and said there is good potential since the Colombo Port nearby was operating at FULL capacity. With China and Asia rapidly growing, prospects for a new port are sound. In 2005 another feasibility study was conducted by the DANISH, and they said same thing. Build another Port! 4. In 2006 after the Danish feasibility study, Sri Lanka approached BOTH India and USA to build the port. They both DECLINED. Only then China approached Sri Lanka. Construction began in 2007, 6 years before Xi Jinping's One Belt One Road project was even launched. 5. Phase One of the Port construction finished on time after 3 years, but the Sri Lanka President was too aggressive. The Danish feasibility study taken in 2005 recommended they start slow and wait several years for business to ramp up, before expanding to phase two. Sri Lanka chose to go ahead anyway with the second phase. So they got another bigger loan from a Chinese bank at ONLY 2% interest. 6. With phase two now completed, and after afew short years of losing money, Sri Lanka realised they needed more experienced operators, which was what the Canadian Agency recommended way back in 2003. That's when they signed the operator deal with China in 2017, but Sri Lanka still kept a minority stake in the operational ownership. There was NEVER default. The port still belongs to Sri Lanka. 7. Of the External Overseas debt payments Sri Lanka is burdened with, only 5% is related to the Hambantota Port. The biggest burden is the crushing Sovereign Bonds Sri Lanka issued at 8% interest rate. This alone comprises 40% of their total external Debt Burden. Totally unrelated to China.
That is a nice summary but it doesn't explain why CCP Foreign Minister is in Sri Lanka this week on an unscheduled emergency trip because Columbo and New Delhi have completed timeline and financing plans for last phase of the '87 China Bay Reservoir Basin agreement in Trimcomolee. Locking Beijing out of the big piece of the puzzle to make that port work.....
The main issue I have is the terms of the construction project. In my country (in Africa), most of the projects have terms that require an almost 7:3 ratio of Chinese workers compared to local workers. You can clearly see why this can cause an issue because local talent is not generated since most of the work is done by Chinese workers and the local community doesn’t acquire most positive economical externalities (i.e salary) from having a project in your backyard. Because of this unbalance, majority of the loan is redirected towards the Chinese economy and not the local one because Chinese workers are the main beneficiary and the cash flow recirculates toward back to China. EDIT: PLEASE read the whole thread, I answered a lot of questions that keep getting repeated. Thank you.
Bro, what do you think is going to happen when there's a foreign investment? That situation happens all over the world. In Asia, in South America, even in China itself. There's a legit reason behind it. The people from that country don't have the necessary skills needed. But of course we can't disregard the rather selfish motive from the investing country. Bottom line is, be smarter and do as the Chinese do.
Isn't that 3 African workers who wouldn't be working and gaining skills and salary without that construction project? There's no doubt that these investments benefit China - the question is whether it benefits Africa as well. It's about whether there's a win-win situation. Are you saying that you would rather have no investment than having a minority share of the benefits of the investment (when the monies isn't even yours)?
If all worker are African, do you think project can run on time? I personally think 7:3 ratio is a good ratio, African workers can learn a lot from the project and the project can run on time.
@@kirangouds He never said there is no negative. He made it clear that China's doing it for their own economic gain, that it's part of a sloppy "plan" that's not a real plan anymore, and that there's a lot of localized corruption involved. He just made it clear that it's not for the "debt-trap," world-domination reasons people assume. You're letting your tribalist biases blind you to any sense of nuance or critical thought. You really think the guy who made a 4 part series criticizing China, some of his most successful videos of all time, is being paid by the CCP? Use your head. Like he was saying, when you criticize them for the wrong reasons, it hurts your credibility when you criticize the things China's actually doing wrong.
First video to accurately describe China's relationship with Africa. If I can use my country of Kenya as an example, the previous president was decent and the loans were used constructively. The current president is incompetent and Kenya is nearing debt distress. It's all about who borrowed the loan, for which project and how the project is implemented.
Hilariously depressing how overt the Empire of China is about colonizing Africa and how they use the same unequal treaties on a much more vast scale that they criticize the west for using on them.
I really think that the Chinese policy of infrastructure creation is a great way ahead for developing and poor nations. Because of Chinese interest strategy, now even western countries are thinking hard about changing their approach. Otherwise we know that western countries only ever supplied arms not infrastructure. Whatever the Chinese interest behind it, it is indirectly helping us by pressuring other powers to do the same
As a Chinese saying goes, "If you want to be rich, build roads first." China did it. It is now hoped that African countries will become rich through trade.
@@yytyytg You need to see that China's achievements in environmental governance have increased forest coverage and turned deserts into oases. No development is single. Sustainable development is China's development direction.
@@何熙-s2k it's china's direction doesn't mean it will be Africa's. There is 100% chance Africa will abandon sustainable measure in favor of faster economical growth.
@@yytyytgYes, it is easy to sacrifice the environment, but it is difficult to govern. China has suffered before. I hope African leaders can learn from this experience.
This was a great vid. Your final comments on logical and consistent criticisms are a huge takeaway. We all need to use critical thinking to decipher the propaganda both ways.
Wait till he does a video on the "The Truth About XinJiang Concentration Camps". That will really challenge your ability to decipher western propaganda, lol
If it was that easy propaganda wouldn't be so damn effective. I've learned a shitton about China, but it's all from western people. Even if i wanted to get a chinese perspective i couldn't because the language barrier doesn't allow me to look deeply into the other side. I struggle alot on where to stand on China because of this. If something where to happen were China and the US would be in conflict i would stand with the US.Would it be a completely fair and logical judgement call to do that? I don't think so
@@joergenmaster7530 You can get a different perspective from Kim Iversen. She is an Asian American political commentator who criticizes China a lot when it's justified, but also doesn't seem to fall in line with the mainstream anti-China narrative on everything in an overwhelmingly biased way.
@@joergenmaster7530 ENGLISH VIDEOS FROM CHINESE PEOPLE: Watch and support real Chinese patriots who want to make China a better place. Respect other race and religion, and the rule of Law and basic human rights: Inc*nvenient Truths by J*nnifer Zeng Digging to China Lei's Real Talk Tea with Erping Zooming in with Simone Gao Zooming in China Forsight JingYuan Tang 唐靖远
I only heard of railway construction in Africa. This is benefitting massively, it creates infrastructure, which makes it for the first time possible, to transport locally produced goods to more distant market places. This will pay itself back as the economy grows just by the use.
Except most of the time its cheaply made and falls apart extremely quickly AND the country in question owes shit tones of money either that or have to give up resource rights for a set amount of time.
@@darthvadeth6290 As a Chinese, I think our government is just trying to address excess industrial capacity, open up new markets for trade, make money, simple that...😂
Americans did it by force. They created wars in other countries to push democracy. Then they started the debt trap with guns. That’s why the Chinese are doing this, so they can move in and force mandarin as a first language. Then they have even footing with the Americans. Then they can take out the americans with no effort. The Chinese have fucked the Americans at every turn but Americans are too dumb to understand it. The USA will be a 3rd world country in our lifetime.
Yeah? So can you explain where is the trap? US interest rate hikes lead to global inflation, 10% in Europe, 30% in Japan, 7% in the US itself. Sri Lanka is ultimately insolvent in US dollar foreign exchange, if you have a little understanding of Sri Lanka's economy, you will not say such ignorant words, on the contrary I also think I'm pretty smart. Big joke.
Hambantota port is not a debt trap set by China. Sri Lankans have been talking about building the Hambantota port near the main Indian Ocean shipping lane since the 1920s. Between 2006 and 2007, the Sri Lankan government sought financing from India and Japan, but was rejected because India did not want to support a project that could compete with its home port, while Japan was already Sri Lanka's largest bilateral creditor.
The fact that the Sri Lankan government wanted to build the port there already and approached China first doesn't mean it isn't inadvertently a Chinese debt trap in nature. Given how corrupt the local government was, China should never have lent them the money at all, and now they're stuck owing money to the CCP, who is busy committing genocide and doing all sorts of other evil stuff. It's not a great situation.
Reading the comments I’m quite surprised to see that most of your audience only watched the first 3 min of the video… Great work as always, a complicated subject approached with nuance!
Chinese have carried so many projects in my country kenya and I have not seen that huge Chinese workforce you are talking about infact Chinese projects have created Kenyan millionaires in terms of supplying materials, infact when they build our only SGR 30% of material was locally sourced
@mdwannabe overseeing the constructions and managing them is surely executed by Chinese workers but I don't see why they'd import hand-workers for a road construction for example, I might be wrong though so he advised. When I've been to Ethiopia 2 years ago I've seen a lot of road constructions and most workers seemed to be African
Sending Chinese expats to Africa is expensive. Not as expensive as European or Americans but still more than locals. Chinese companies ain’t charities or employment agents and have budgets to keep. Blanket statements about Chinese labor is bs. Everyone is out to make a profit and meet a schedule, the smarter ones also build relationships for long term cooperation. How many Chinese expats are purely a result of that equation.
That’s SIMPLE. China didn’t force Africa to choose it as its investor. If other countries are complaining about China’s threat in controlling Africa, go offer Africans better deals and help them develop better future than China did.
Hate to break it to you, but the majority are likely lies. Most Africans do not speak English, nor to they participate on youtube in large numbers. At least this side of it. The comments you are seeing are either liar s, bots, propagan dists, or the tiny
Thanks for providing a factual, logical and objective outlook on these controversial issues. It's a shame a lot of people here seem to be only interested in having their biases reinforced, and I say this as someone who is very critical of China.
in reality it is superpowers doing superpower things. Look at France in Africa in it's former colonies dictating monetary policy and this was ripped from the US's playbook in the 70s, 80s and 90s via the World Bank and IMF. And regionally, historically, Australia and New Zealand in the South Pacific via "foreign aid". Of course, no one wants a rival to play the same game.
@@TheTinnin Well, I am not American. And from a neutral perspective, I do think Chinese imperialism will likely prove worse than that of the US. I also think this moral relativism really doesn't help anyone. There is little to be gained by deflecting criticism of one country by pointing out the flaws of another.
TRULY fantastic. Gets into the murky, well-researched truth, rather than seeing the world in blacks and whites. Loved how you framed the beginning of the video in the "Good vs Evil" way that 99% of people do, then showed that you respect your audience enough to really get into detail. Loved the numeric analysis, like the percentage calculation of countries which could sustainably absorb such debt.
*The western people seem does not want to spend a penny on developing countries (instead of building billions of $$ worth of bombs) - - bend on win over China by bashing - - -*
@@TKUA11 The real story of China's BRI from a BRI expert. "ua-cam.com/video/OGGItLIKL8g/v-deo.html" "ua-cam.com/video/a6M9lWvqscQ/v-deo.html" "ua-cam.com/video/U4AlyyPplkY/v-deo.html"
@@TKUA11 my country has a pretty bad impression w China and a generally bad history with communism. If the west offered a better deal than China then we'd probably have taken it. You know, those countries arent dumb. If the deal was all-bad no one would take it. You conveniently ignore market forces when it's convenient to do so.
@@TKUA11 That, or you watched too many propagandas to the point that anything *remotely* put China in the good light is considered odd. I hate China with it's cencorships but at least i could think twice, or thrice instead of parroting what propagandist has to say.
When USA and IMF came offering 'Aid' to us, I feel worry. When China came offering 'Debt' to us to build massive and important infrastructure project, I feel having great opportunity to grow. Love from Indonesia to The Rising Dragons, People's Republic of China ❤🇮🇩🇨🇳
We like the more accurate name Loong for the dragon, because it is different from the monster in western culture, but instead, an auspicious icon in Chinese culture. ❤
I remember reading in the Economist about one official complaining that the Chinese were becoming like the IMF after they started getting stricter with their lending requirements cause of the failed projects which made me laugh a bit.
Westerners are extremely cunning beyond human morals. Rest of the world is neglegent and is suffering for atleast 200 years. Its nowhere near anyones wild imagination. Noam chomsky has been on this for some time trying to educate the world.
You will always want a return on your investment, but the Western ones are the worst. Some of them also build airbases in certain African countries, for example Djibouti, for drone attacks in the middle east and elsewhere. EDIT: China has a military base in Djibouti. Thats one overseas base compared to the 750 to 800+ US military bases worldwide.
''The dangers of criticizing China for the wrong reason is that it would is that it reduces credibility when you need it the most''. A simple spot-on sentence that explains what the world needs right now: nuances. Criticism is due when it is due, but we cant let it dictate our perspectives about the larger schemes in international relations. In today's overflow of anti-china publications, China's value to the world is being downscaled for political victories which will eventually hurt everyone's harmony towards a better future.
The problem is China is doing some bad things, but just like the US, if you say US BAD HERP A DERP, it ignores the fact that while the US isn't perfect, which is the same with China.
@@WalterFlanagin when a nation is big no one can impose justice to them, u saw china violating international law in news but did u know who is the biggest violator of international law in the world? u think all those wars, airstrikes, and invasion in the middle east is in accordance to international law? absolutely not
Wow, I thought China's policy was really a "Debt trap", whereas the real problem is that the borrower country doesn't manage money well. Thanks for the great video and subtitles.
The problem is our leaders. I do not blame China or even America for taking advantage of that, as I am sure they know fully well these African leaders will misuse the money, leading to China owning them. This is bad long term for Africa, as we will end up being owned by China. At that point, resources would be going to the Chinese rather than Africans
An unbiased and well-researched video on this topic. It's rare to find, since so much slant is given to a paradigm that can be given a political bias. Thank you for educating us as always, PolyMatter
lol. You recon? Decades of IMF/World Bank doing it to developing countries on behalf of the rich. Sometimes with military violence. Greece having to sell it's prime assets at reduced price, suddenly people wake up to the debt trap.
This video is misleading , to say these loans are not debt traps or that The belt and road initiative doesn’t exist is borderline propagandistic , He fail to mention the fact these Chinese bank are NOT independent institutions. Politics and Business are one and the same thing when it’s comes to China . Also the the fact they’re landing at higher rate in comparison to WB , That why it’s only logical to look at these banks as an extension of the CCP .
For years I was told by the media and believed that Chinese investments are little more than neo-colonialist bribes in exchange for power. Then I went to Kenya and was blown away by how positive the locals are about Chinese rail and road construction bringing high quality transport and jobs to this developing nation. A lot of the new appartments and other developments bringing Nairobi into the 21st century are also funded by Chinese developers.
Majority and I mean the VAST majority of projects in Kenya are funded by Kenya itself. It just happens, the contractors are Chinese, who are prefered due to their speed. The only major project that was on loan was the railway. What you don’t hear about is the other NUMEROUS major projects that aren’t on loan. In addition, Kenya is well within capacity to repay the loan and isn’t close to defaulting. It has capacity to take atleast three times as much.
White man success was build on stolen loot in the name of Jesus, Chinese way is common prosperity, this make white man look bad, so American spent 300 millions to smear Chinese, they always instgate conflict always commit unspeakable atrocities
As a Sri Lankan, I have to say that you pretty much got everything right when it comes to the Sri Lanka. The leasing of Hambantota Port (you got the pronunciation right btw so kudos to that) took place due to the culmination of many different factors. It wasn't as simple as China purposefully lending funds to build the port so later they could take over it. The debt-trap narrative like any other typical western narrative misses context and fails to realize that each country has its own different and unique circumstances. Also, the Hambanthota port isn't as bad as many claim it to be. The port is actually doing quite well as a ro-ro transshipment hub and is expanding a lot as we speak. Anyway, great job on a deconstructing a biased run-of-the-mill western narrative with half-truth through objective analysis.
Indeed, China is a 1.4 billion+ population the size of the US. Most people tend not to realized how difficult it is to even govern on that level, let alone 'control' anything, like the flow of funding in every company.
That’s the problem with international politics there will always be a bias in any conversation. I will admit that I don’t trust China’s government and could see some faction using the port in an aggressive way if given the chance. However I also acknowledge that it is pretty much impossible that they are pulling some Machiavellian scheme to conquer the world.
A lot of people make comments on the internet. This comment by Manula is a good example of *passive aggression.* Passive aggression is a debate tactic wherein the person isn't directly attacking the target of the discussion; rather they make insincere comments to point out flaws in a point of view or opinion. Manula states 'Great job misconstructing a run-of-the-mill...' etc etc. Instead of point out the flaws (where they may be present) in a constructive way, they attempt to contrast the point made with the one they *think* should have been made. Often, as is the case here, passive-aggression isn't followed up with supporting evidence, since a discussion isn't the point. The point is to drag someone down to their level. Don't go down to their level. Just something to note on our trip through the internet. Merry Christmas, everyone!
It's refreshing to watch a balanced video about this, in the middle of abundance amount of propagandist UA-camrs here pushing their narratives and killing people's critical thinking. Thank you for doing this, I truly appreciate your works.
@@wf645 How so? the summarize of what i watched here is that China's foreign investment is may helpful but imperfect, it has it's pros and cons. By taking China's investments, especially making China their biggest foreign investor, they could have the chance to improve their country but unfortunately will also keep their voice shut with China's shady stuff like Xinjiang or Tibet. These Africans countries should play their cards right to improve their countries, otherwise it would lead to downfall. It needs to eliminate corruption, collusion and nepotism in their countries too to make the most of China's foreign investments. This video is by far healthy for my braincells instead of some UA-camrs brainwashing it's audiences with "USA Good China Bad" narratives. If you know, you know.
@@fasha7747 It leads you to think its healthier. As said, for those who think it was a balanced piece would have come from viewing much bias media. Being Bilingual, i've view information from both sides, as balance as this piece is, it is still a pretty veil bias against China. I'll be candid IMF / World Bank, did they really helped those countries that they are assisting or had plunged those countries into eternal debt traps ... Errr XinJiang under China, their Muslim population has grown. Tibet was part of China. Under the Dalai, there were slavery and caste system; Dalai is not as holy as he is. Has the west really developed their colonies, or exploiting them to the last drop ... As you say, African nations have to play their cards right to make the most of foreign investment. Unless there is a strong man in Africa else Africa is doom to be forever exploited .... hence the building of infrastructure and upgrading of education is of importance. When the basic needs of the population are taken care of they will slow rise up. These takes time ... which may or may not bloom.
@@wf645 the problem with China is not so much what they are doing, it’s that the mistakes will get increasingly common as people become more reliant on them. I won’t sit here and tell you American businesses are much better, but generally they don’t work hand in hand with the Government nearly to the same extent. In China corporations are not limited by the Goverment, instead enabled by them, which means Chinese buisnesses do a lot of shady stuff and the Goverment doesn’t even need to be bribed like in the US. It’s people do not hold the Government to the same level of scrutiny as in places like the US or Even Britain, and China exploits this heavily to their favor. If everything was run by China, There would be no one to criticize it, so it would never fix any of its issues, those issues would likely be pushed under a rug until the people of China finally realize how big that rug is and all of it collapses like it has for thousands of years.
I was taught about this in university this semester and they emphasized the "Debt-Trap" theory as if it was a concrete fact, so hearing that independent researches couldn't find any solid evidence to prove it kind of highlights the bias of North American universities.
@Neil Graham West as in West Taiwan amirite? From my independent research, 90% of the word "anti-China" is being sent to keep the record for repaying from the CIA🤔
" The less you say, the more intimidating and powerful you are. Always say less than necessary. When you do speak, make it vague and ambiguous, leaving the meaning to others to interpret. *They’ll be frustrated and obsessed with trying to figure you out.* " - Law n°4 of _The 48 Laws of Power_ , by Robert Greene.
China is a peace-loving country，She brought prosperity to other countries and helped。The European and American countries have brought wars and disasters to other countries.Shouldn't everyone like a country like China?
*... Western people trumpets up South China Sea "conflict", Blinken went to SouthEast Asia trying to stir up get Asian countries go against China - however after getting booed in Philippines (banned from their military facilities and being called a "clown" in their biggest newspaper), no welcome in Indonesia, the trip was abruptly halted in just two countries, after Cambodia banned using American weapons and China delivered a "baby Aircraft Carrier" to Thailand ... Yes SouthEast Asian countries hates China 🤣 now we can get a picture of what really happened in Xinjiang, Iraqis detergent "Chemical Weapons" as described in western fake news" media*
*They are basically trying to get Asians to killing Asians to killing off the Asian Story (like what they did in the other continents for centuries - sorry for the continents came before us - there must be thousands of untold and unheard tragedies and struggles ended with despair BUT NO MORE) - but they never thought Asians are MUCH MUCH more clever*
@@azmainfaiak8111 there is no high evidence of Cia paying people to comment on social media but there is high proof of video with the documentary of chinese doing it. hell they even monitor the china social media
The US, by and large, supports democracy, free trade, wealth creation, liberalism, the right to a fair trial, and free speech to name a few things - they are a positive beacon to the world. China however literally imprisons and kills any of their citizens who speak out against the CCP, and literally keeps people as slaves if they hold the 'wrong' view or subscribe to the 'wrong' religion. So please, stop with the naval gazing and don't be so naive.
@@BigBadBurrow We have placed countries into huge debt to us. Look at South America in the 70's and 80's. We've place a gun to smaller countries heads. i.e. Panama or Cuba. Why are in the Baltic seas? "Wealth creation" is a funny way of putting it. If there's oil, we'll destroy nations for control, start proxy wars, pin countries against each other. Do we respect sovereign nations? Or, do we only care about capital? I don't think we care about Democracy. Look at our newer allies like Saudi Arabia. They are the opposite of freedom/democracy. Wake the F up.
@@parthbonde2106 too much honesty? It’s this hard dichotomy of yes we support our troops…but do we support the reasoning? WW2, hopefully we can all agree that war was the last but only option. In contrast, was Vietnam or Afghanistan the right move? Another fact: We sell protection as a service and weapons. Why stop when it makes so much money?
I thought it was pretty cool that Mr. Beast kind of has the same reason I use youtube, more for learning in an entertaining fashion rather than consuming for the sake of consuming.
As a matter of fact, China helps developing countries only to develop alliances, and China needs them to help China speak out internationally. Just as the United States also has such staunch allies as Europe, Japan and South Korea.
I highly recommend the book The Bad Samaritans. It is written by a Korean Professor who discusses how western world helps the third world countries and does not yield the result they intended. It might sound counter-intuitive, given that they donate vast amounts every year, and they mostly are from good intentions for sure. But as a Korean economist, he had the unique opportunity to explore and analyse elements that were vital to Korean economy. Korea was only 1 step ahead of China after all (in economic development stages) China has the capital and the willingness to replicate that success in other countries. They need return of course, and they put up with corruption, but they should be criticised for what they are. Not for some conspiracy. I love how random commenter in YT have such influence on people's understanding and opinions.
So some people here think he's sponsored by the CCP and is producing propaganda while some think he is criticizing China and revealing it's dark secrets. I really don't think there can be such a large difference in interpretation if everyone actually watched everything. People just start arguing when they say "China". I am no supporter of the CCP but just posting "Tiananmen Square" for nothing really is stupid.
nuance is in short supply on the internet. imo, the most disappointing thing with these braindead responses is that polymatter actually cites its sources. we could be having far more substantive discussions if people would use actual sources to back their arguments. or if people were simply more literate i guess.
You're right, all democratic countries should build a Tiananmen Square memorial next to their Chinese embassies...to replace the ones the CCP are erasing from Hong Kong.
@@bUwUmer1260 Well, a lot of people can't fathom that a lot of situations in the world is not black and white and have many many different variables as to why it happens and how it happened. We're mostly still just monkeys.
This world is very complicated. There is never pure good or evil, but always a mix of the two. But there is a golden rule to understand this world: assess things happened by its benefit and cost (both tangible and intangible). That could explain vast majority of events happening.
People aren't motivated by "let's do good or do evil today". They're motivated by money. It's a perfect storm of China looking for business opportunities and corrupt African politicians looking to spend money for selfish/dubious reasons. The whole "is it good or evil?" question is mostly reserved for society/governments that have developed (or believe they have) a conscience.
its all about money . china can help you just pay them , europe try to help africa but can 't because no money, america just cause trouble together with uk amd australia
The other principle to use is Hanlon's Razor: never ascribe to malice what can be better explained by incompetence. Chinese businesspeople saw an opportunity, took it, and in many cases are learning the hard way why their western counterparts didn't see the same opportunity.
I can barely find a credible and convincing source on topics like these, these days, precisely because I keep catching them either making wrong criticism, making blasphemous offense to logical consistency, or because they're literally a state propaganda arm. Most western news sources are drunk on their own kool-aid; whilst China's CCTV is literally a state propaganda arm. Whilst CBC, France24 and DW are also state media arms, they're alright up until they have to talk a western belief - then it's gloves off and facts gone. It's hard to find trustworthy sources because of all of this. Ugh. Polymatter is one of the few who seem to care to look into the details. T. Greer of the Scholar's Stage blog is another, although a bit more biased towards the American perspective. I'd go look for more, but I also figure that this doesn't actually serve my life much of a purpose, and I'm better off treating all of this as entertainment now. C'est la vie!
@@DarkwarriorJ The medias were used to be trustworthy until Obama started pivot to Asia. Now I have to spend more time to read stories from both sides (e.g. CCTV vs DW) to get a grasp of the middle of two extremes.
@@TSRHelios ROFLMAO if you think the media weren't already full of shit before Obama. Like, holy fucking shit, were you living under a rock when western media enthusiastically and uncritically helped push Dubya his narrative of iraqi WMDs to get an excuse to invade? About the only thing that's changed is that China's become the biggest target now.
Fantastic video! As someone who has been to Colombo and seen the throngs of Chinese workers trying to negotiate what to do getting into the country without speaking a word of Sinhala, Tamil or English I wish the amount of employment opportunities these projects provide for Chinese workers was elaborated on a bit more.
Shouldn't projects taking place in Sri Lanka provide opportunities for *_Sri Lankan_* workers ??? But I guess you earned your daily Ramen with that comment... ;o)))
@@oooSoundOfLifeooo I agree with you-but that isn't the point of his video. Providing opportunities for Chinese workers-and a very specific type of Chinese worker is part of China's plan. Also ramen is Japanese....
Same thing is happening to here where I live and our government is doing nothing to prevent it. If you think they are just mere construction workers you better think again. How do mere workers have similar traits to those of military soldiers? Not only is China building infrastructures in our soils but also militarizing them.
🇱🇰 here 🙋 If you are wondering why there are so many un-efficient infrastructure projects in Hambantota, you shoud get to know the narrow minded Rajapaksa family. Mahinda Rajapaksa former president of SL had a dream to make Hambantota as the capital of SL because Hambantota is where he was born and raised. That is why he made all those things. Original plan of Hambantota port was to make a fuel station for ships. After profiting from it, next phase was to create shipping docks. But he couldn't wait to see if thing could go forward. He did it all. Rest is history. This port never profited during all this time or at least couldn't balance the expenses. But Rajapaksa family gave too many jobs there for their political supporters. Rajapaksa family is extremely corrupted. From their inner circle to local thugs in villages, everyone is bonded with corruption. During his presidency he doubled(700k to 1.4M) government jobs by filling it with his supporters. Gotabaya Rajapaksa the current president also started his term with giving 100k government jobs. I think no one in the whole world dare to challenge Rajapaksa family in corruption. 🙆
When the 30 years war ended Sri Lanka immediately needed investments for developing its infrastructure. Only China came forward at that time. After all, Sri Lankahas become the most developed nation in entire South Asia with highest HDI in the region.
Sri Lanka with highest HDI......still asks loans from low HDI nations nations of South Asia....... Sri Lanka developed nation in entire South Asia.......still on the verge of bankruptcy in 2022 due to low forex reserves Only god knows what development SL went through with Chynese help......and why now Sri Lanka’s financial position is so poor.........
the ones accusing it of being anti-china saw the intro without watching further. The ones who accuse it of being pro-china saw the intro, and were tricked into watching what turned out to NOT be the expected race-attacking hysteria-stoking fear-laden commentary they were hoping would further cement their already-biased opinions about a nation that gets continuously assaulted by western media with accusations that rarely rely on the level of factual analysis that Polymatter presents this time. Consequently the latter group will accuse me of being a Wumao having none of the critical thinking required to understand what I am saying.
@@goldsilvervscrisiscollapse4320 tbf it's difficult keeping a open and rational mind when this effects your life and livelihood as it does for a lot of people in SEA possibly including me who lives in the Philippines.
@@vincegalila7211 even more important for you to stay rational then! Imagine blaming your woes on the wrong problem, you might end up with a far less and far worse livelihood.
The fact you uploaded a video on this channel about this is really hard to do, so I commend you. There are a multitude of people who will never listen to any facts and just like to parrot what the news feeds them. There will always be two sides to a story, and they both need to be heard. Great video.
In the case of Sri Lanka, I believe the country was under economic sanctions after a civil war hence its economic prospects which looked rosy before became unviable to repay loans for the port, together with debtors of several other countries. Am I right?
It's not just sanctions, it's their own govt. messing things up - "Steep payments on international sovereign bonds, which comprised nearly 40% of the country’s external debt, put Sirisena’s Government in dire fiscal straits almost immediately. When Sirisena took office, Sri Lanka owed more to Japan, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank than to China. Of the $ 4.5 billion in debt service Sri Lanka would pay in 2017, only 5% was because of Hambantota. The Central Bank governors under both Rajapaksa and Sirisena do not agree on much, but they both told us that Hambantota, and Chinese finance in general, was not the source of the country’s financial distress." "All these loans were obtained from China EXIM Bank, most at commercial rates. However, each loan had a grace period of around five years and a payback period of 15-plus years. For this very reason, the loan repayments for Hambantota do not amount to a large portion of Sri Lanka’s external debt servicing payments; some loan repayments have not even started yet. Debt repayments for the loans obtained for Hambantota port amount to only around 5 percent of Sri Lanka’s total annual foreign debt payments, and even less among total debt repayments." "By the end of 2017, only little over 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt was owed to China and most of that was in the form of concessionary loans. Instead, the largest portion of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt was international sovereign bonds, which amounted to 39 percent of the total foreign debt as of 2017. These are commercial borrowings obtained from international capital markets since 2007, and such bonds have resulted in soaring external debt servicing due to the nature of the debt. Unlike in concessionary loans obtained to carry out a specific development project, these commercial borrowings do not have a long payback period or the option of payment in small installments."
There is an element of stupidity, incompetence and plenty of corruption in the meantime, you are too right. It is however also terrifically useful, ready made well prepared military infrastructure for when the time comes and who is going to stop them? It won't be so easy.
Corruption is malice. Enabling, perpetuating, and exploiting corruption is malice. That corruption leads to the defaults even if the project could’ve succeeded. That’s a dumb rule everyone keeps saying
Export capital is a common thing for all developed industrial country, it was natural and totally economic. Of course, China will gain big influence during the process, but it was not the main purpose, just additional effects. Main purpose was export capital and pruduction capacity to earn more money.
For Chinese engineers if the oversea investment involves state bank approval, put the BRI label on the form can increase approval rate. For Chinese officials and media, if the project succeed it is BRI. If it failed, the project never happened.
To be fair, this ain't even a Chinese thing. This is a human thing to not admit to one's mistakes, lol. It's way too easy to fall into propaganda when most of your news sources come from places that more or less have ulterior motives to push propaganda either way.
@@tiffyw92 no china doing anything to not show face is china thing.i do agree other country do not show face such as america.but not the extreme that is china. Plus china will never admit mistake as the whole country is control by few elite people. To show face is like admitting failure at their job.
probably one of the first videos i've seen about china in africa that mentioned that the research about the debt trap debunks it, and that most of sri lanka's debt is owed to other countries.
Because these Western always spend time and make use of the people and resources and upload all the filming of the animals etc . make profit out of it instead helping them to develop the infrastructure for them to live a better life. At least China willing to started rather than those just talk no action for the last few decades. Right?
Even if it were true, in China it's called conspiracy. The only purpose of a country is to prosper its people and it cannot be completely selfless to other countries. A good government will find ways to achieve win-win, but it is difficult to do it every time. In this regard, China has done its best, and we have to admit that people have flaws, but at least we have not harmed others and not ourselves.
@Notrius I feel you on that bro but Americans came through with cattle slavery. China is enslaving them the same way we're enslaved: ridiculous loans with even more ridiculous interest rates. But honestly I'm right there with you bro
A thing I go back to on this is how China became unwilling to lend more money to Kenya for the SGR (new railway) because it was much more difficult to build than expected with less money generated than expected, and more corruption than thought. The original project was meant to be a railway from the Kenyan port of Mombasa, to other East African countries. It didn't make it out of Kenya, nor that far past Mombasa to Nairobi (the capital), leaving Kenya with the job of figuring out how to continue the vision. It's with this that a lightbulb finally clicked and the government realised that the British did this years ago, so now a project is underway, locally funded, to fix up the MGR that the British built ages ago, make it usable again and use it as the basis to complete the rest of the project. The local story/fear is that China wants to take over the Mombasa port as payment for the SGR, which Chinese officials have vehemently denied. But nothing has come out of that story yet, as far as I can tell.
Another point is the cost of the SGR: 3.4 billion USD. International railway experts estimated that the cost should not have exceeded 2 billion USD. The feasibility study was revised several times to proof that the SGR would make profit. In fact until today it didn't make any profit. End of 2019 Kenia was close to default on the loan and asked for restructuring which was secretly achieved with the help of the World Bank. How were the 3.4 billion USD used? OK, the SGR was built, but a big portion of the money went into massive bribery to anybody in the government, parliament and administration in Kenya who had anything to say about this project. You can be sure that the president of Kenya got the biggest chunk of that money.
@@stephen46xre86 Not everything is about profit, when you are educating your kid it is not with the hopes that they will be able to pay you back. It is the west that believes everything in this world revolves around profits. Sometimes you take profits from other sectors to give none profit-making sector life because there are parts of an economy you just can't do without, profit or not.
Doofus the Communist Chinese treat their own people like slaves. The Americans do not. Communism is not your friend. Look how Communism works in other parts of the world. Your intelligence from your statement says everything.
The major difference is in China even if a giant project is economically unsuccessful the government can afford to wait until It's not(like many chinese ghost cities are now bustling cities due to government incentives)but in Sri Lanka(or any other developing nation) they juat Can't do that for obvious reasons.
Not to sound too critical, but how much of that is due to economic growth? While China had accelerating economic growth, waiting for the economy to catch up to stalled projects isn't too much of an issue. China's economy is still growing, but the rate of such growth is slowing down -- hence the need to invest in international projects.
You answered your own question. "in China" - it's in their own country. They can do whatever they want. Sri Lanka(or any other developing nation) are not "in China". They are foreign nations.
@@darthvadeth6290 That's just reductionist and ignores the nature of political economy. Capital is needed to fund projects, and labor is needed to build them. If either isn't available it doesn't matter if it's inside or outside of China, it won't get made. As such, in the present economic world, a growing GDP is still needed to absorb the risks of such projects until the economy can catch up.
@@LaowaiDaveJCP China politics, economy structure is totally different from other countries in China due to one party system they follow same development model planned by previous leaders but this criteria don't work for other change of political parties means implementing new policies And making changes in old development model
The port was a Sri Lanka project at first with Singapore management. Singapore surrendered the rights to manage the port and Chinese firms were invited to manage the port. Most of the debt were and still is to western financial institutions at high interest rates. Chinese investors enlarged the port with the hope of more trade with India. India economy was then growing rapidly but has slowed down since then.. The port started construction in 2008 BEFORE the BRI announcement by President Xi in 2013,
I know that one of the objectives of the belt and road initiative was to ensure logistic independence for China in the event that relations with India break down. They're net food importers so trade is vital to them.
@@abebuckingham8198 The port started construction in 2008 BEFORE the BRI announcement by President Xi in 2013, Buckingboy. Go away and learn something useful besides lying
@@abebuckingham8198 China hasn't been a net food importer for decades. And even then a lot of their food imports are because their own agricultural sector is weighed towards cash crops and animal husbandry.
my parents are both work as senior engineer in Chinese state-own enterprise (not local level but nation level) and we have lots of boys and girls working in developing countries in Africa and Asia. Let’s just said, those people work in their project are all learning and practice for years to be a skilled engineer like my parents did, I would said the last thing they would expect to happen is having a failure in their project. Yet, there’s lots of problem exist, like the low quality local labors, terrible environment (political , infrastructure, natural) or other elements (I know a guy got covid after fully vaccinated, poor guy. They are the first wave who took the vaccine during July 2020 which is way before the vaccine introduce to the public, however their project are really in urgent and they can not count on the local for realistic reason. ) It’s really upset to see their hard work are described as some sort of evil plan. You know, not everyone want to enslave Africa, someone might really try to invest there that make it a better place instead of what British did in India.
It is a sorry state, you know the situation and how your parents give their all to improve other peoples' lives, but you ain't gonna get these clowns to appreciate this fact. Accept that they think they are funny, but they are not, they are clowns though
I saw a lot of people mentioned that China is not using a large portion of local workforce as an alternate way to discredit the Belt and Road Initiative. Are the construction projects about completing the infrastructures or training local work force? Chinese companies aim to finish the projects efficiently and I can't see how hiring incompetent local workforces would help to acheive this goal; there's a reason why African countries choose Chinese companies over domestic ones. Looks like Western propoganda has rooted deeply and brainwashed a lot of people, such that they always view everything China through twisted lens
That's such a dumb answer.The reason why China used its own workforce is not because they are more competent than locals(otherwise they would stop doing that in european and gulf countried where there are many local professionals) but because they want to give jobs to chinese labourers while the construction industry stagnated in their homeland. The locals obviously hated this policy because they usually dont profit from the infrastructures and want benefit from the cost of the construction,something the chinese denied to them
@@ihavenojawandimustscream4681 First, the local partner requirement is also fulfilled in all BRI projects, or otherwise Chinese companies wouldn't even hire a single local worker for the project. To validate your point, you have to refer to similar projects, such as the high speed rail way built by Japanese company in India, and prove that these non-chinese related infrastructure projects hire a considerably larger portion of local labors than those by Chinese company. Secondly, I don't recall any Chinese company building infrastructures in developed region such as Europe, maybe 5g tower? For roads or railways in Afirca or 5g towers in Europe, Chinese workforces are definitely more familiar and competent than the domestic labors, otherwise the local governments wouldn't even choose foreign companies over domestic ones in the first place.
Can confirm. Here in Bangladesh we have so many skilled workers who already worked on megaprojects in the Middle East and Malaysia. So Chinese companies just hire these workers instead of bringing over Chinese workers
omg, i have NEVER seen more objective explanation of a topic that political, thank you. u can indeed see the world in colour, not just black and white.
the eurozone debt crisis was exactly that, low interest rates encouraged scandinavian countries to lend to southern european countries. there were little to no conditions led to an inability to pay back and a domino effect of rising debt and devaluation of currency
@@daeseongkim93 Specially in Greece, a country that hid its true economic capacity with accounting tricks to be able to enter the EU and then borrowed money to feed an inflated public spending until the bubble burst
I used to work for a Chinese company that helped build power grids in Africa。We wish to provide more steady supply of power but there are many problems .The corrupt and the poor efficiency，and hostile environment. In fact with higher labor cost and dely of time limit,this project has no profit for us.
The loans from IMF and World Bank have been purposefully made to indebt developing countries and get their strategic resources and industries. China's ones are way fairer. But making competition to IMG, World Bank is bothering them.
The debt trap narrative only became a thing as a way to target China but poor countries have always been in debt, the main difference with China is that there is less control, not no control less control because while beggars can be choosers their choices are limited. I remember a saying from when I was little: the British will give you rice, the Chinese will show you how to farm. (I think that's how it goes) China knows it needs developing countries and though some of these projects fail it doesn't gain from their failures. The expansion of Africa's economy contributes greatly to the Chinese economy just as the Chinese economy did to Europe and US, funny how no one cared about debt trap back then. This is up to the African people to realize the opportunity and make the best use of it, some will and some won't.
*The should add another voice using polymatter's voice says "Western powers have been doing this for centuries in 1000x scale - why is white people never reports it?? Oh wait - - it doesn't help them keep their domination and weaken their rivals - - however bashing China and stir conflict between other countries does. Have you ever heard of McMahon Line? Why is a western name in an Asian border and is Kingdom of Hawaii, Guam, the Natives people (the real owner of the US itself)*
@@moe_is_justice8559 The CCP has shown its quite capable of committing crimes against humanity within its own borders, what makes you think they won't do the same on another continent?
@@angryrushfan7725 There are a lot of fools that think just because it is coming from China it's better are more "Pure" that anything the West ever did. You can call them Communists, I call them Neo-Commies, or "the new dumb." Someday, somehow, those 3rd Worlders have GOT to figure out how to do things for themselves, and gain the faith in themselves AND their fellow man to take that leap. Until then, they will always be at the mercy of those practicing "Wolf-Warrior" tactics..... and what the West did is nothing compared to what China is/will do.
Americans generally don't see the countries in Africa-- they only see Africa as a whole. This is because most Americans really do not care. It's much easier to group things up and refuse to see the nuances. Since most English viewers tend to be America, this is the way it is innit.
The fact that you told the truth only after 4 and a half minutes of video means that a huge percentage of people watching this would have been misinformed :( I make vlogs and news vids straight from the streets of China.
Their ultimate goal is likely to develope these countries then spread Yuan in their market. Eventually building an economic block that use Yuan as its key currency. Replacing the influence of dollar. The only way that China can match the United States is to take the status of dollar in global trade.
Exactly....this video has two goals, selling this guys product, and softening criticism of China. They play a long game and want this to be their century, with the yuan as world reserve currency. rival factions vying for currency control, they all do it, and China is stepping up its game...
Doesn’t sound so bad actually. I think a lot of people would be down with decentralizing the “world’s reserve currency”. It’s been a lifetime since ww2 and the global economic system desperately needs a revamp. I wouldn’t mind using the top 5 major currencies in a “weighted currency basket” as a reserve currency instead of just the dollar.
@@kirkampong6449 ...They already are in the form of SDR's ( Special Drawing Rights)...the dollar's status as world reserve currency is being eroded, and that IS bad because the IMF's goal is a single global currency, as laid out in their 2010 report on the matter....
@@WHACK_space_rock interesting stuff. Went down a little rabbit hole on this reserve currency stuff, and tbh idk how it’ll end up. I do still think it will take a while(like a decade if I had to guess) to change the RC and obviously the US economy has to be be taken into account to avoid economic issues that could result.
As a Chinese, I have to say, yes we are making money out of African people’s pocket, but during the business, we also build many factories, shops, schools, railways, highways in Africa to help African countries able to buy more products, African people also can enjoy all the cheap and relatively reliable products. African people are not stupid, if those westerners could offer better deals, I believe African people will choose those westerners. Before you blame China, think about what did you do in Africa? Colonisation? Killing? Slaves?
Context, remember, context. What colonization did to India, China, rest of Asia, Africa & South America in the last century. Most of these countries were victims of very understated trauma. No bad deals can be worse that being under oppression and systemic inequity by fascists.
one of the problem with Chinese loans is that they required Chinese manpower of at least 50% Chinese, from the project's highups to the low-skilled labourers, which doesn't really help the skill development of locals as well as transfer of knowledge.
what do you mean? 50% Chinese skillful workers can guarantee the efficiency, while the other 50% loca workers can guarentee the technique spread, I think this is a wise decision.
You're expecting too much if you think building a port or a bridge can transfer much technical knowledge. Once completed, these projects are only meant to ease the commercial aspect of trade and travel so the population can BEGIN to prosper, only then will the government have more revenue for better schools and medical facility and families can keep their children at school longer through and better education allowing vacancy for skilled labour. It's a gradual process that'll take two generations at least. This has been China's model, there's no short-cut but if these countries can study and refine this model, it can be slightly quicker.
is like you asking me to do a software for your airport i do it and you can read it, can you learn from it? yes, will they teach you? yes, but all this need to be done under a specific timeline and the contract is about finishing the work in 3 years
Finally an accurate and objective video on Chinese lending abroad. Seen tens of videos and news giving their half assed analysis based on shaky sources. Great job and subbed
I disagree. They are creating their 'investments' in Serbia too, but what they don't show the world is prisoners that work in factories, living in factories and working for 16 hours a day. Our cancer related deaths have tripled since they arrived cause of all the pollution they are causing.
@Frank Lucas Not really. More accurately would be: Working in a factory like a slave for $300 a month, while the government is forcing locally owned firms to close so the Chinese ones can take over and lover the wages. The average car age in Serbia is 18 years old used cars... Don't pretend you know everything...
@Frank Lucas 1. NO IT DOES NOT. The prices are exactly the same as the rest of the Europe and the US. Please don't talk about the stuff you know nothing about. 2. If bringing over slaves and blackmailing workers is called efficiency, than okay... 3. Here is where I see you don't actually know anything. The locally owned businesses are the exact same factories... They close them down under the explanation that they are causing environmental damage and not following protocols... then sell those same factories on auction to China. 4. You said we get iphones and CARS in exchange... I'm telling you we do not cause rarely anybody here has any money for a new car. Again... life here is HORIBLE... and every year they just make it worse.. . We're protesting on the streets every weekend, blocking highways. Hundreds of thousands of people are protesting because of stuff like this... So yeah, I would say it's bad...
@Frank Lucas And here's some quick math on how I spend my $350 salary in Serbia. Rent = $200 Electricity = $50 Heating = $80 (all year round, even in the summer you have to pay it) Water = $20 And for food and other essentials you can get an extra job... because fuck us
@Frank Lucas ua-cam.com/video/Qu9xJvMU9Ps/v-deo.html Just take a look at what we have to do every month or so when stuff gets out of control. Otherwise they would literally enslave us. And please don't give me a story about democracy or something that we can do to change the system if we don't like it... because in countries like this, democracy doesn't exist
Seems like China should read Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Although I have read (a number of years ago)China was interested in sending a small % of their workforce (about 300 million) to various African countries to "help" with agriculture ,manufacturing , construction etc.Wonder if that is still on the stove.
300 million? Whoever wrote that knew less than nothing. Also, that's a small percentage? 300 million is literally more than 20% of China's entire population.
@@magni5648 Still leaves over 1.1 billion people in China I guess its all relative. Some would consider that a good ROI. Btw it was written by someone who has spent over thirty years working with various African Governments maybe not a knowledgeable as you seem to think you are but at the time , twenty years ago when I remember reading it things where a little different.
Liked and Subscribed. I have been waiting for a video like this for ages. All the people in my life have different opinions on China, and this just helped me clear it in my head
@@铭记历史拥抱未来 All I saw was bunch of anti-Chinese stuff, hell even my video suggested laowhy86 or SerpentZa even when I said to not recommend the channels. Annoying sometimes
@@archivedumaroc I would say at least France, US, UK are transparent and voted by its people (to certain degrees). A greedy dictatorship is worse than a greedy elected president.
@@firewoodloki What do we care we in Africa about your democracy. Those things benefit the citizen of those countries and no one else. Most of European countries were democracies while colonizing Africa, that didn't make things any more enjoyable.
Really, it is a good review and insight. Instead of China's Debt-Trap, what practically we have seen in Ethiopia is Western's Aid-Trap (weaponizing aid). That is why we Ethiopians are saying " #Nomore".
Happy holidays and hope you all can spend some time with family. Enjoy this extra long video treat and don’t forget to check out Brilliant, which would make a great last minute gift and/or project for your winter holiday: brilliant.org/polymatter 🎄
Cheers
Could you look at China interest in Central Asia ?
@@AQLV so are you German or American? Your previous comment suggests you're American but here you claim be a German
At this point you could rename your channel to Chinapedia or something lol
they sold out same as you bro.
In my country (Rwanda, in Africa) we have the benefit of a ruthlessly efficient government. Part of that, is making really good deals with China. Part of the deal is Chinese firms need their workers to have a Rwandan majority.
As Africans we can't really blame China when they give us bad deals. Europe and America give us much worse deals all the time. That's just how capitalism works. No one is out for our best interests, they just want a slice of the most resource rich continent on the planet. We need to look to our governments to make better deals. That's my take.
Sounds about right... Those who do business in Africa usually don't invest but work one-sided deals in fear of losing money. Typical capitalistic greed. If people invest in who they are working with, then maybe a better business outcome will be achieved.
True, usually the only way smaller nations can get ahead is by playing bigger nations against each other to get a better deal.
Doing "good deals" with a country unfortunately isn't enough. Developed countries need to do the deals with the right people in the country. For example, the U.S. did "good deals" with Iran through the Shah up through 1978 because he was the internationally recognized ruler of the country. As the undisputed monarch ruler of Iran, it was simply assumed that he would know what's best for "his people." However, Iranian revolutionists during the end of 1978 saw the U.S. as a complicit agent of the Shah and made it a point to expel U.S. (and British) contractors in Iran who were there to help build out Iran's oil, construction, and defense infrastructure. Though the ruling Khomeini's of Iran did deals behind the scenes with the U.S. (for example, the Iran-Contra deals during the mid-80s), it was better politically for them to demonize the U.S. publically because of the history with the Shah.
Sounds much more like what humans have been doing since the beginning of age, ppl will unmask themselves to others when given a huge advantage and power, especially when there's money involved
Your (African) governments get overthrown the vast majority of the time that they want to make their countries better so that western (usually France) countries can keep exploiting Africa for their resources unabated
South African here. I think I can add something. If you're into history, you should consider making a video about South Africa's apartheid regime. Many people don't know that the US, the UK, France and Italy continued to support and sell arms to the South African apartheid government despite a UN embargo. This fuelled a 26 year war against African liberation movements in Southern Africa, which is referred to as the South African Border War. The result was that the apartheid regime in South Africa protected western assets from the native Africans going back since colonial times. The fear was that the "communists" would come in and take over control since African liberation movements were mostly supported by Russia, China and Cuba. So, the US, the UK, France and Italy were basically supporting an extremely racist and oppressive regime in order to continue exploiting African countries. In a nutshell, that's why we rather do business with China. We see it as the lesser of evils. Most African governments don't trust Western countries because countries like the US, the UK, France and Italy "secretly" supported apartheid, and exploited Africans for centuries. When I say "secretly", I do so sarcastically. It was all well documented in research journals, where you'll get the actual truth instead of Western news media rubbish. These are obviously facts most people in the West prefer to conveniently filter out from their narrative when they go on about how much they are concerned about Africans. They don't really care. Western governments and industries just don't want anyone else to get in on their action because they would like to assume that every other culture has the the same exploitative and cruel intentions than them. So, when they criticise countries like China, I tend to rather look at it as Freudian projection. So, when they talk about China on CNN, Fox, DW or the BBC, I know that it's mostly their corporate insecurities feeding that narrative. They hardly ever give you "the news." It's corporate propaganda and little else.
Glad to see a native saying the truth truly happening in South Africa. Lies of CNN BBC are everywhere and lets boycott
I guess you never lived under CCP controlled country. Wait until you have a real taste of what it feels like under CCP censorship - no free speech, no criticism of government… all views must be inline with dictator Xi who even ban Winnie the Pooh.
@@henryshen1156 don't describe China as hell ,many countries would like to have the same prosperity as China, as dictatorship there are a lot of it in this world, the perfect world does not exist yet ,let other people develop their countries, have a better life ,the politics, it's just a come and go,people knows when to change it.
@@mao77fr China was on the right path before Xi took over in 2012. We lived in China in 60-80s and later mid 2000s. The culture revolution in the 60s really wreck the country. Things changed to the better when China opened up in mid 80s. The country went thru rapid development especially after joining WTO. China had vibrant economy and fairly freedom of speech. Unfortunately, lots were changed since Xi took power. His ideology is more like Mao. China under Xi is becoming more and more like North Korea. His policy and dictator style is making china now repeating some of horrible history (we call it culture revolution 2.0.) just wait and see in 10 years. China will become another North Korea on steroid unless the top leader is replaced.
@@henryshen1156 i did live in China and I say you only have a tunnel view. You are brainwashed by those “Democracy and Freedom” thing. It’s like, who cares. Lifting people from poverty is way more important. You are free to eat bullets and take drugs in some countries. Enjoy your life there.
This video is everything, as a Kenyan many in my country keep talking about the debt trap, when it is the leaders looting these loans & putting us in the trap. The projects that have been successfully completed have greatly changed peoples lives & boosted the economy to the top 5 in AFRICA. While there are lingering issues to do with Chinese employment practices, the money provided is invaluable Thank you China
Debt trap is a propaganda. There is not bank that trap people with debt. If a loan deflaut, it is the bank which is trapped, not the borrower. Assets simply act as collateral here. It is common practice to have collateral in every part of the world.
Haven't seen anything solid built by western colonial master for the past 300 years in African continent.
Don’t let up the pressure on the employment practices, I hate western propaganda, but we shouldn’t ignore real problems because of it.
bit too early for thank you china? eh
They have their own motives same as the west. I wouldn't thank them just yet
In China, the government still like to remind the people how the African nations helped them to get a permanent seat in UN back in 1971. China loves Africans, after all they suffered a lot from colonization.
Yes, colonizers not settlers. Oh by the way, it's called bribing, not lobbying.
Well explain WHY?? China is in Africa in the 1st place govingAfricas government a predatory loan with interest so high they will never be able to pay it back .? Why are Chinese men in Africa impregnating African women and leaving them behind? Why is China building businesses in Africa and keeping Africans from shopping in them.Why are Chinese migrating in Africa? That's not their heritage,custom or land!! Why are Chinese men beating Africn men boys with stickers and whips?? China has not good intentions for Africa period!!!! Times have changed.Chna has more sinister intentions while in Africa..
Great video. I actually made a summary of the Sri Lankan Hambantota port for my friends and family. Here it is...
1. The Port still belongs to Sri Lanka. China paid over one billion USD to LEASE and operate it for 99years, and they don't have full control. Sri Lanka still has a stake in this venture.
2. Sri Lanka has more LOANS with Japan AND World Bank, than they do with China. Why don't we ever hear of a Japanese "debt trap"?
3. The Hambantota Port was built by Chinese firms in 2007. But even before China got involved, in 2003 the Canadian Devt Agency financed a feasibility study and said there is good potential since the Colombo Port nearby was operating at FULL capacity. With China and Asia rapidly growing, prospects for a new port are sound. In 2005 another feasibility study was conducted by the DANISH, and they said same thing. Build another Port!
4. In 2006 after the Danish feasibility study, Sri Lanka approached BOTH India and USA to build the port. They both DECLINED. Only then China approached Sri Lanka. Construction began in 2007, 6 years before Xi Jinping's One Belt One Road project was even launched.
5. Phase One of the Port construction finished on time after 3 years, but the Sri Lanka President was too aggressive. The Danish feasibility study taken in 2005 recommended they start slow and wait several years for business to ramp up, before expanding to phase two. Sri Lanka chose to go ahead anyway with the second phase. So they got another bigger loan from a Chinese bank at ONLY 2% interest.
6. With phase two now completed, and after afew short years of losing money, Sri Lanka realised they needed more experienced operators, which was what the Canadian Agency recommended way back in 2003. That's when they signed the operator deal with China in 2017, but Sri Lanka still kept a minority stake in the operational ownership. There was NEVER default. The port still belongs to Sri Lanka.
7. Of the External Overseas debt payments Sri Lanka is burdened with, only 5% is related to the Hambantota Port. The biggest burden is the crushing Sovereign Bonds Sri Lanka issued at 8% interest rate. This alone comprises 40% of their total external Debt Burden. Totally unrelated to China.
That is a nice summary but it doesn't explain why CCP Foreign Minister is in Sri Lanka this week on an unscheduled emergency trip because Columbo and New Delhi have completed timeline and financing plans for last phase of the '87 China Bay Reservoir Basin agreement in Trimcomolee. Locking Beijing out of the big piece of the puzzle to make that port work.....
@@robertrudisill5777 Because if the port doesn't earn money, how is Sri Lanka going to pay back their debt?
Duh.
@@angeliquewu8318 ...you mean if sri lanka can't pay back their soul belongs to ccp?
Fake narrative. You continue to live in denial while China's enslaving you economically
@@pyp7610 I think any bank would do the same. You're looking for anything to justify your hate.
The main issue I have is the terms of the construction project. In my country (in Africa), most of the projects have terms that require an almost 7:3 ratio of Chinese workers compared to local workers. You can clearly see why this can cause an issue because local talent is not generated since most of the work is done by Chinese workers and the local community doesn’t acquire most positive economical externalities (i.e salary) from having a project in your backyard. Because of this unbalance, majority of the loan is redirected towards the Chinese economy and not the local one because Chinese workers are the main beneficiary and the cash flow recirculates toward back to China.
EDIT: PLEASE read the whole thread, I answered a lot of questions that keep getting repeated. Thank you.
Bro, what do you think is going to happen when there's a foreign investment? That situation happens all over the world. In Asia, in South America, even in China itself. There's a legit reason behind it. The people from that country don't have the necessary skills needed. But of course we can't disregard the rather selfish motive from the investing country. Bottom line is, be smarter and do as the Chinese do.
Yes, he purposely missed so many points like this to bring out to tell there is no negative. This is why I think this video is paid by CPP
Isn't that 3 African workers who wouldn't be working and gaining skills and salary without that construction project? There's no doubt that these investments benefit China - the question is whether it benefits Africa as well. It's about whether there's a win-win situation. Are you saying that you would rather have no investment than having a minority share of the benefits of the investment (when the monies isn't even yours)?
If all worker are African, do you think project can run on time? I personally think 7:3 ratio is a good ratio, African workers can learn a lot from the project and the project can run on time.
@@kirangouds He never said there is no negative. He made it clear that China's doing it for their own economic gain, that it's part of a sloppy "plan" that's not a real plan anymore, and that there's a lot of localized corruption involved. He just made it clear that it's not for the "debt-trap," world-domination reasons people assume.
You're letting your tribalist biases blind you to any sense of nuance or critical thought. You really think the guy who made a 4 part series criticizing China, some of his most successful videos of all time, is being paid by the CCP? Use your head.
Like he was saying, when you criticize them for the wrong reasons, it hurts your credibility when you criticize the things China's actually doing wrong.
First video to accurately describe China's relationship with Africa.
If I can use my country of Kenya as an example, the previous president was decent and the loans were used constructively. The current president is incompetent and Kenya is nearing debt distress. It's all about who borrowed the loan, for which project and how the project is implemented.
True
Unachoma bro even tho I agree with the statement 😂
Facts...
Thank you for this insight, and for being fair to China.
Hilariously depressing how overt the Empire of China is about colonizing Africa and how they use the same unequal treaties on a much more vast scale that they criticize the west for using on them.
I really think that the Chinese policy of infrastructure creation is a great way ahead for developing and poor nations. Because of Chinese interest strategy, now even western countries are thinking hard about changing their approach. Otherwise we know that western countries only ever supplied arms not infrastructure. Whatever the Chinese interest behind it, it is indirectly helping us by pressuring other powers to do the same
As a Chinese saying goes, "If you want to be rich, build roads first." China did it. It is now hoped that African countries will become rich through trade.
@@何熙-s2k help them industrialized so we can warm the earth quicker.
@@yytyytg You need to see that China's achievements in environmental governance have increased forest coverage and turned deserts into oases. No development is single. Sustainable development is China's development direction.
@@何熙-s2k it's china's direction doesn't mean it will be Africa's. There is 100% chance Africa will abandon sustainable measure in favor of faster economical growth.
@@yytyytgYes, it is easy to sacrifice the environment, but it is difficult to govern. China has suffered before. I hope African leaders can learn from this experience.
This was a great vid. Your final comments on logical and consistent criticisms are a huge takeaway. We all need to use critical thinking to decipher the propaganda both ways.
Wait till he does a video on the "The Truth About XinJiang Concentration Camps". That will really challenge your ability to decipher western propaganda, lol
If it was that easy propaganda wouldn't be so damn effective. I've learned a shitton about China, but it's all from western people. Even if i wanted to get a chinese perspective i couldn't because the language barrier doesn't allow me to look deeply into the other side. I struggle alot on where to stand on China because of this. If something where to happen were China and the US would be in conflict i would stand with the US.Would it be a completely fair and logical judgement call to do that? I don't think so
@@joergenmaster7530 You can get a different perspective from Kim Iversen. She is an Asian American political commentator who criticizes China a lot when it's justified, but also doesn't seem to fall in line with the mainstream anti-China narrative on everything in an overwhelmingly biased way.
@@joergenmaster7530 search for a UA-cam channel called the new atlas.
@@joergenmaster7530
ENGLISH VIDEOS FROM CHINESE PEOPLE:
Watch and support real Chinese patriots who want to make China a better place.
Respect other race and religion, and the rule of Law and basic human rights:
Inc*nvenient Truths by J*nnifer Zeng
Digging to China
Lei's Real Talk
Tea with Erping
Zooming in with Simone Gao
Zooming in China
Forsight JingYuan Tang 唐靖远
I only heard of railway construction in Africa. This is benefitting massively, it creates infrastructure, which makes it for the first time possible, to transport locally produced goods to more distant market places. This will pay itself back as the economy grows just by the use.
Except most of the time its cheaply made and falls apart extremely quickly AND the country in question owes shit tones of money either that or have to give up resource rights for a set amount of time.
@@dragonace119 they're getting better locomotives than many western countries have. i live in australia and we're still using trains from the 1970s.
@@dragonace119 If the railway is bad, why did Europe build it? Why did the US build it? Why did China build it? Why didn't their country fall apart?
@@火箭翻墙 Railways in genral are a good idea, Chinese railways are shit.
@@dragonace119 lol，proof it.
Sir. I came here for anti-china propaganda, not objective analysis. How dare you.
But a breath of fresh air once in a while is nice too, isn't it? Lol
@@darthvadeth6290 As a Chinese, I think our government is just trying to address excess industrial capacity, open up new markets for trade, make money, simple that...😂
@@butterfly7562 ah yes, I like their polices. I really like their public infrastructure such as public squares and tanks
@@groundsalt2199 yo😆
@@groundsalt2199 啊，我也很喜欢
"Of course it is a debt trap, we have done it hunderds of times before. "said USA
Americans did it by force. They created wars in other countries to push democracy. Then they started the debt trap with guns. That’s why the Chinese are doing this, so they can move in and force mandarin as a first language. Then they have even footing with the Americans. Then they can take out the americans with no effort. The Chinese have fucked the Americans at every turn but Americans are too dumb to understand it. The USA will be a 3rd world country in our lifetime.
🤭
🤫🤫
💀
Yeah? So can you explain where is the trap? US interest rate hikes lead to global inflation, 10% in Europe, 30% in Japan, 7% in the US itself. Sri Lanka is ultimately insolvent in US dollar foreign exchange, if you have a little understanding of Sri Lanka's economy, you will not say such ignorant words, on the contrary I also think I'm pretty smart. Big joke.
Hambantota port is not a debt trap set by China. Sri Lankans have been talking about building the Hambantota port near the main Indian Ocean shipping lane since the 1920s. Between 2006 and 2007, the Sri Lankan government sought financing from India and Japan, but was rejected because India did not want to support a project that could compete with its home port, while Japan was already Sri Lanka's largest bilateral creditor.
The fact that the Sri Lankan government wanted to build the port there already and approached China first doesn't mean it isn't inadvertently a Chinese debt trap in nature. Given how corrupt the local government was, China should never have lent them the money at all, and now they're stuck owing money to the CCP, who is busy committing genocide and doing all sorts of other evil stuff. It's not a great situation.
@@zibbitybibbitybop so.. what's your suggested solution?
@@JZ-fi5pb Nothing
@@JZ-fi5pb his solution is that china is bad.
@@JewTube001 lmao all right it sounds like he doesn't really care about Sri Lanka nor knows anything about China.
Reading the comments I’m quite surprised to see that most of your audience only watched the first 3 min of the video…
Great work as always, a complicated subject approached with nuance!
yeah and it's funny
Happens all the time with these vids lol
It's not that. Everyone just "hurries up" to write a comment to get those juicy upvotes. That's just how youtube's comment section works.
Most of them were Chinese bots lmao.
where the fg members at
Chinese have carried so many projects in my country kenya and I have not seen that huge Chinese workforce you are talking about infact Chinese projects have created Kenyan millionaires in terms of supplying materials, infact when they build our only SGR 30% of material was locally sourced
@mdwannabe overseeing the constructions and managing them is surely executed by Chinese workers but I don't see why they'd import hand-workers for a road construction for example, I might be wrong though so he advised. When I've been to Ethiopia 2 years ago I've seen a lot of road constructions and most workers seemed to be African
Thank you exactly!
Sending Chinese expats to Africa is expensive. Not as expensive as European or Americans but still more than locals. Chinese companies ain’t charities or employment agents and have budgets to keep. Blanket statements about Chinese labor is bs. Everyone is out to make a profit and meet a schedule, the smarter ones also build relationships for long term cooperation. How many Chinese expats are purely a result of that equation.
That’s SIMPLE. China didn’t force Africa to choose it as its investor. If other countries are complaining about China’s threat in controlling Africa, go offer Africans better deals and help them develop better future than China did.
I'm really happy to see actual African comments, instead of western stories, rank to the top when we are talking about African issues
Hate to break it to you, but the majority are likely lies. Most Africans do not speak English, nor to they participate on youtube in large numbers. At least this side of it. The comments you are seeing are either liar s, bots, propagan dists, or the tiny
@@LaFonteCheVi no
You can easily find African with grammar broken english...
@@udhayakumarMN the country that are dumb in english not just africa..
Not all Africans think the same.
@@udhayakumarMN قحبة
Thanks for providing a factual, logical and objective outlook on these controversial issues. It's a shame a lot of people here seem to be only interested in having their biases reinforced, and I say this as someone who is very critical of China.
in reality it is superpowers doing superpower things. Look at France in Africa in it's former colonies dictating monetary policy and this was ripped from the US's playbook in the 70s, 80s and 90s via the World Bank and IMF. And regionally, historically, Australia and New Zealand in the South Pacific via "foreign aid". Of course, no one wants a rival to play the same game.
you are a stooge for China
@@ChineseKiwi Yes, it's reprehensible whenever powerful countries exploit weaker countries.
We are American. how can we criticize china lol
@@TheTinnin Well, I am not American. And from a neutral perspective, I do think Chinese imperialism will likely prove worse than that of the US.
I also think this moral relativism really doesn't help anyone. There is little to be gained by deflecting criticism of one country by pointing out the flaws of another.
TRULY fantastic. Gets into the murky, well-researched truth, rather than seeing the world in blacks and whites. Loved how you framed the beginning of the video in the "Good vs Evil" way that 99% of people do, then showed that you respect your audience enough to really get into detail. Loved the numeric analysis, like the percentage calculation of countries which could sustainably absorb such debt.
*The western people seem does not want to spend a penny on developing countries (instead of building billions of $$ worth of bombs) - - bend on win over China by bashing - - -*
Kind of sounds to me like he took that sweet China socialist money, to turn the narrative in favor of China
@@TKUA11
The real story of China's BRI from a BRI expert.
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"ua-cam.com/video/a6M9lWvqscQ/v-deo.html"
"ua-cam.com/video/U4AlyyPplkY/v-deo.html"
@@TKUA11 my country has a pretty bad impression w China and a generally bad history with communism. If the west offered a better deal than China then we'd probably have taken it. You know, those countries arent dumb. If the deal was all-bad no one would take it. You conveniently ignore market forces when it's convenient to do so.
@@TKUA11 That, or you watched too many propagandas to the point that anything *remotely* put China in the good light is considered odd. I hate China with it's cencorships but at least i could think twice, or thrice instead of parroting what propagandist has to say.
When USA and IMF came offering 'Aid' to us, I feel worry. When China came offering 'Debt' to us to build massive and important infrastructure project, I feel having great opportunity to grow. Love from Indonesia to The Rising Dragons, People's Republic of China ❤🇮🇩🇨🇳
We like the more accurate name Loong for the dragon, because it is different from the monster in western culture, but instead, an auspicious icon in Chinese culture. ❤
Im sure you feel great about being a sucker, excellent way to loan infrastructure china wants back when you cant handle payment.
we china prefer win-win！
Come on!Let's develop together!
谢谢您的赞美。
I remember reading in the Economist about one official complaining that the Chinese were becoming like the IMF after they started getting stricter with their lending requirements cause of the failed projects which made me laugh a bit.
an alternative to the IMF
@@sinoroman IMF for dictators.
@@snare5903 that's also just the regular IMF
@@alonzohernandez8330 sick burn dude
@@alonzohernandez8330 Nah the imf always puts a load of democracy and human rights constraints on it's loans. Look then up.
It's funny how they are talking about china's debt trap but African countries have been on European and imfs debt trap
Westerners are extremely cunning beyond human morals.
Rest of the world is neglegent and is suffering for atleast 200 years.
Its nowhere near anyones wild imagination. Noam chomsky has been on this for some time trying to educate the world.
True. China is just doing the same thing.
You will always want a return on your investment, but the Western ones are the worst. Some of them also build airbases in certain African countries, for example Djibouti, for drone attacks in the middle east and elsewhere. EDIT: China has a military base in Djibouti. Thats one overseas base compared to the 750 to 800+ US military bases worldwide.
Europe and imf don't takeover land if not payed
When has Europe or the IMF taken land for a defaulted loan?
I would bet my left nut you are Chinese.
''The dangers of criticizing China for the wrong reason is that it would is that it reduces credibility when you need it the most''. A simple spot-on sentence that explains what the world needs right now: nuances. Criticism is due when it is due, but we cant let it dictate our perspectives about the larger schemes in international relations. In today's overflow of anti-china publications, China's value to the world is being downscaled for political victories which will eventually hurt everyone's harmony towards a better future.
eh
China refuses to take any criticism tho. They kinda do whatever they want and violate international law
The problem is China is doing some bad things, but just like the US, if you say US BAD HERP A DERP, it ignores the fact that while the US isn't perfect, which is the same with China.
@@WalterFlanagin when a nation is big no one can impose justice to them, u saw china violating international law in news but did u know who is the biggest violator of international law in the world? u think all those wars, airstrikes, and invasion in the middle east is in accordance to international law? absolutely not
@@dbloskijr4665 I didn’t bring up the US? I never said the US are the good guys
Wow, I thought China's policy was really a "Debt trap", whereas the real problem is that the borrower country doesn't manage money well.
Thanks for the great video and subtitles.
The problem is our leaders. I do not blame China or even America for taking advantage of that, as I am sure they know fully well these African leaders will misuse the money, leading to China owning them. This is bad long term for Africa, as we will end up being owned by China. At that point, resources would be going to the Chinese rather than Africans
Its called strategy, china knows they dont, hence the “debt trap”. Its called exploitation and something western countries did for a long time.
An unbiased and well-researched video on this topic. It's rare to find, since so much slant is given to a paradigm that can be given a political bias. Thank you for educating us as always, PolyMatter
lol. You recon? Decades of IMF/World Bank doing it to developing countries on behalf of the rich. Sometimes with military violence. Greece having to sell it's prime assets at reduced price, suddenly people wake up to the debt trap.
this is a shill video. the chinese bank is left with land and a 25% downpayment for later use.
This video is misleading , to say these loans are not debt traps or that The belt and road initiative doesn’t exist is borderline propagandistic , He fail to mention the fact these Chinese bank are NOT independent institutions. Politics and Business are one and the same thing when it’s comes to China . Also the the fact they’re landing at higher rate in comparison to WB , That why it’s only logical to look at these banks as an extension of the CCP .
@@oliverbanes5121 so? That goes without saying, neither is US foreign aid or any other for that matter
@@Aaron565 I like how you people will criticise this video if it doesn’t fit your narrative and on another praise it when it does
For years I was told by the media and believed that Chinese investments are little more than neo-colonialist bribes in exchange for power. Then I went to Kenya and was blown away by how positive the locals are about Chinese rail and road construction bringing high quality transport and jobs to this developing nation. A lot of the new appartments and other developments bringing Nairobi into the 21st century are also funded by Chinese developers.
Majority and I mean the VAST majority of projects in Kenya are funded by Kenya itself. It just happens, the contractors are Chinese, who are prefered due to their speed. The only major project that was on loan was the railway. What you don’t hear about is the other NUMEROUS major projects that aren’t on loan. In addition, Kenya is well within capacity to repay the loan and isn’t close to defaulting. It has capacity to take atleast three times as much.
Apartments are not funded by Chinese developers
White man success was build on stolen loot in the name of Jesus, Chinese way is common prosperity, this make white man look bad, so American spent 300 millions to smear Chinese, they always instgate conflict always commit unspeakable atrocities
@@MikeNj compare to white man chinese build roads ,white man commit unspeakable atrocities," Berlin conference "
As a Sri Lankan, I have to say that you pretty much got everything right when it comes to the Sri Lanka. The leasing of Hambantota Port (you got the pronunciation right btw so kudos to that) took place due to the culmination of many different factors. It wasn't as simple as China purposefully lending funds to build the port so later they could take over it. The debt-trap narrative like any other typical western narrative misses context and fails to realize that each country has its own different and unique circumstances. Also, the Hambanthota port isn't as bad as many claim it to be. The port is actually doing quite well as a ro-ro transshipment hub and is expanding a lot as we speak.
Anyway, great job on a deconstructing a biased run-of-the-mill western narrative with half-truth through objective analysis.
deconstructing*
Indeed, China is a 1.4 billion+ population the size of the US. Most people tend not to realized how difficult it is to even govern on that level, let alone 'control' anything, like the flow of funding in every company.
That’s the problem with international politics there will always be a bias in any conversation.
I will admit that I don’t trust China’s government and could see some faction using the port in an aggressive way if given the chance. However I also acknowledge that it is pretty much impossible that they are pulling some Machiavellian scheme to conquer the world.
A lot of people make comments on the internet. This comment by Manula is a good example of *passive aggression.* Passive aggression is a debate tactic wherein the person isn't directly attacking the target of the discussion; rather they make insincere comments to point out flaws in a point of view or opinion. Manula states 'Great job misconstructing a run-of-the-mill...' etc etc. Instead of point out the flaws (where they may be present) in a constructive way, they attempt to contrast the point made with the one they *think* should have been made. Often, as is the case here, passive-aggression isn't followed up with supporting evidence, since a discussion isn't the point. The point is to drag someone down to their level. Don't go down to their level.
Just something to note on our trip through the internet.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
@@Strykenine he definitely meant deconstructing rather than misconstruing.
US military bases in Africa: 29
Chinese military bases in Africa: 0
Russian military bases in Africa: 0
Who would you trade with?
Actually one chinese military base in Djibouti, Africa, but the goal is to protect the naval trade route
@@JackbladeWoW And also everyone gets naval bases there! Dijibouti is happy to lease land to any military willing.
Lancau la us, ini orang tak leh pakai.. not only in africa, in arab with conflict countries that they have created
It's refreshing to watch a balanced video about this, in the middle of abundance amount of propagandist UA-camrs here pushing their narratives and killing people's critical thinking. Thank you for doing this, I truly appreciate your works.
In the guise of balance but yet still stinks of biasness, just not as bias as others ...
@@wf645 so what is your point, Captain Redundant?
@@wf645 How so? the summarize of what i watched here is that China's foreign investment is may helpful but imperfect, it has it's pros and cons. By taking China's investments, especially making China their biggest foreign investor, they could have the chance to improve their country but unfortunately will also keep their voice shut with China's shady stuff like Xinjiang or Tibet. These Africans countries should play their cards right to improve their countries, otherwise it would lead to downfall. It needs to eliminate corruption, collusion and nepotism in their countries too to make the most of China's foreign investments.
This video is by far healthy for my braincells instead of some UA-camrs brainwashing it's audiences with "USA Good China Bad" narratives. If you know, you know.
@@fasha7747 It leads you to think its healthier. As said, for those who think it was a balanced piece would have come from viewing much bias media. Being Bilingual, i've view information from both sides, as balance as this piece is, it is still a pretty veil bias against China.
I'll be candid IMF / World Bank, did they really helped those countries that they are assisting or had plunged those countries into eternal debt traps ...
Errr XinJiang under China, their Muslim population has grown. Tibet was part of China. Under the Dalai, there were slavery and caste system; Dalai is not as holy as he is. Has the west really developed their colonies, or exploiting them to the last drop ...
As you say, African nations have to play their cards right to make the most of foreign investment. Unless there is a strong man in Africa else Africa is doom to be forever exploited .... hence the building of infrastructure and upgrading of education is of importance. When the basic needs of the population are taken care of they will slow rise up. These takes time ... which may or may not bloom.
@@wf645 the problem with China is not so much what they are doing, it’s that the mistakes will get increasingly common as people become more reliant on them. I won’t sit here and tell you American businesses are much better, but generally they don’t work hand in hand with the Government nearly to the same extent. In China corporations are not limited by the Goverment, instead enabled by them, which means Chinese buisnesses do a lot of shady stuff and the Goverment doesn’t even need to be bribed like in the US. It’s people do not hold the Government to the same level of scrutiny as in places like the US or Even Britain, and China exploits this heavily to their favor. If everything was run by China, There would be no one to criticize it, so it would never fix any of its issues, those issues would likely be pushed under a rug until the people of China finally realize how big that rug is and all of it collapses like it has for thousands of years.
I was taught about this in university this semester and they emphasized the "Debt-Trap" theory as if it was a concrete fact, so hearing that independent researches couldn't find any solid evidence to prove it kind of highlights the bias of North American universities.
Sri Lanka
It’s because it’s the only economically sound explanation, but projects don’t always need to be profitable if they are for diplomatic reasons
It is unbelievable North American universities teach students like this. I call that brainwashing
@@firefly4784 Not every country is as "developed" as your country's censorship 😂
@Neil Graham West as in West Taiwan amirite? From my independent research, 90% of the word "anti-China" is being sent to keep the record for repaying from the CIA🤔
" The less you say, the more intimidating and powerful you are. Always say less than necessary. When you do speak, make it vague and ambiguous, leaving the meaning to others to interpret. *They’ll be frustrated and obsessed with trying to figure you out.* "
- Law n°4 of _The 48 Laws of Power_ , by Robert Greene.
China is a peace-loving country，She brought prosperity to other countries and helped。The European and American countries have brought wars and disasters to other countries.Shouldn't everyone like a country like China?
Since when, the west started caring about African's life?
now apperently,when China starts doing good for the Africans
I've heard the "debt trap diplomacy" narrative so often -- it's nice to hear an alternative explanation.
*... Western people trumpets up South China Sea "conflict", Blinken went to SouthEast Asia trying to stir up get Asian countries go against China - however after getting booed in Philippines (banned from their military facilities and being called a "clown" in their biggest newspaper), no welcome in Indonesia, the trip was abruptly halted in just two countries, after Cambodia banned using American weapons and China delivered a "baby Aircraft Carrier" to Thailand ... Yes SouthEast Asian countries hates China 🤣 now we can get a picture of what really happened in Xinjiang, Iraqis detergent "Chemical Weapons" as described in western fake news" media*
*They are basically trying to get Asians to killing Asians to killing off the Asian Story (like what they did in the other continents for centuries - sorry for the continents came before us - there must be thousands of untold and unheard tragedies and struggles ended with despair BUT NO MORE) - but they never thought Asians are MUCH MUCH more clever*
@@robertgittings8662 😂 Hey wumao, how much do you like your 50 cents?
@@subifyouhatetiktokandreddit234 how much cia pays u??
@@azmainfaiak8111 there is no high evidence of Cia paying people to comment on social media but there is high proof of video with the documentary of chinese doing it. hell they even monitor the china social media
The US has been doing these maneuvers for years. Funny how we have bases everywhere. I mean, everywhere. The irony is thick.
The US, by and large, supports democracy, free trade, wealth creation, liberalism, the right to a fair trial, and free speech to name a few things - they are a positive beacon to the world. China however literally imprisons and kills any of their citizens who speak out against the CCP, and literally keeps people as slaves if they hold the 'wrong' view or subscribe to the 'wrong' religion. So please, stop with the naval gazing and don't be so naive.
@@BigBadBurrow We have placed countries into huge debt to us. Look at South America in the 70's and 80's. We've place a gun to smaller countries heads. i.e. Panama or Cuba. Why are in the Baltic seas?
"Wealth creation" is a funny way of putting it. If there's oil, we'll destroy nations for control, start proxy wars, pin countries against each other.
Do we respect sovereign nations? Or, do we only care about capital?
I don't think we care about Democracy. Look at our newer allies like Saudi Arabia. They are the opposite of freedom/democracy. Wake the F up.
@@BigBadBurrow the propanganda in your comment is too much
@@parthbonde2106 too much honesty? It’s this hard dichotomy of yes we support our troops…but do we support the reasoning? WW2, hopefully we can all agree that war was the last but only option. In contrast, was Vietnam or Afghanistan the right move?
Another fact: We sell protection as a service and weapons. Why stop when it makes so much money?
@@parthbonde2106 Is it a lie that the US has dozens of military bases in all continents? it is not. Then why you say it is propaganda?
Mrbeast said in a video with Marques Brownlee you were one of his favorite channels, keep up the great work!
who gives a f
@@lorenzo6553 clearly not you
I thought it was pretty cool that Mr. Beast kind of has the same reason I use youtube, more for learning in an entertaining fashion rather than consuming for the sake of consuming.
Cool fact man. Thanks for sharing!
Nobody cares except geeks with glasses 🤓🤓🤓
As a matter of fact, China helps developing countries only to develop alliances, and China needs them to help China speak out internationally. Just as the United States also has such staunch allies as Europe, Japan and South Korea.
I highly recommend the book The Bad Samaritans. It is written by a Korean Professor who discusses how western world helps the third world countries and does not yield the result they intended. It might sound counter-intuitive, given that they donate vast amounts every year, and they mostly are from good intentions for sure. But as a Korean economist, he had the unique opportunity to explore and analyse elements that were vital to Korean economy. Korea was only 1 step ahead of China after all (in economic development stages)
China has the capital and the willingness to replicate that success in other countries. They need return of course, and they put up with corruption, but they should be criticised for what they are. Not for some conspiracy. I love how random commenter in YT have such influence on people's understanding and opinions.
The west don't care about helping others unless it helps them. Then again that's all humans In every country. It's human nature
@@kingkazuma2239 it depends on the culture and mentality
Have you ever researched how foreign aid actually works?
@@janicejames3005 Have you?
@@petergilkes7082 No I haven’t. But I have placed it on my bucket list of reading. So much to be revealed. Thanks for the suggestion.
So some people here think he's sponsored by the CCP and is producing propaganda while some think he is criticizing China and revealing it's dark secrets. I really don't think there can be such a large difference in interpretation if everyone actually watched everything. People just start arguing when they say "China". I am no supporter of the CCP but just posting "Tiananmen Square" for nothing really is stupid.
I interpret it more as a "the situation is not black and white"
nuance is in short supply on the internet. imo, the most disappointing thing with these braindead responses is that polymatter actually cites its sources. we could be having far more substantive discussions if people would use actual sources to back their arguments.
or if people were simply more literate i guess.
You're right, all democratic countries should build a Tiananmen Square memorial next to their Chinese embassies...to replace the ones the CCP are erasing from Hong Kong.
Not fully against CCP => The brainwashed supporter of CCP
That's how those people interpret
@@bUwUmer1260 Well, a lot of people can't fathom that a lot of situations in the world is not black and white and have many many different variables as to why it happens and how it happened.
We're mostly still just monkeys.
This world is very complicated. There is never pure good or evil, but always a mix of the two.
But there is a golden rule to understand this world: assess things happened by its benefit and cost (both tangible and intangible).
That could explain vast majority of events happening.
People aren't motivated by "let's do good or do evil today". They're motivated by money. It's a perfect storm of China looking for business opportunities and corrupt African politicians looking to spend money for selfish/dubious reasons. The whole "is it good or evil?" question is mostly reserved for society/governments that have developed (or believe they have) a conscience.
its all about money . china can help you just pay them , europe try to help africa but can 't because no money, america just cause trouble together with uk amd australia
The other principle to use is Hanlon's Razor: never ascribe to malice what can be better explained by incompetence. Chinese businesspeople saw an opportunity, took it, and in many cases are learning the hard way why their western counterparts didn't see the same opportunity.
I bursted out when you call India the closest rival of China
The danger of making wrong criticism is that it makes it unconvincing when you are raising a real and valuable question.
I can barely find a credible and convincing source on topics like these, these days, precisely because I keep catching them either making wrong criticism, making blasphemous offense to logical consistency, or because they're literally a state propaganda arm.
Most western news sources are drunk on their own kool-aid; whilst China's CCTV is literally a state propaganda arm. Whilst CBC, France24 and DW are also state media arms, they're alright up until they have to talk a western belief - then it's gloves off and facts gone. It's hard to find trustworthy sources because of all of this. Ugh.
Polymatter is one of the few who seem to care to look into the details. T. Greer of the Scholar's Stage blog is another, although a bit more biased towards the American perspective. I'd go look for more, but I also figure that this doesn't actually serve my life much of a purpose, and I'm better off treating all of this as entertainment now. C'est la vie!
@@DarkwarriorJ The medias were used to be trustworthy until Obama started pivot to Asia. Now I have to spend more time to read stories from both sides (e.g. CCTV vs DW) to get a grasp of the middle of two extremes.
@@TSRHelios ROFLMAO if you think the media weren't already full of shit before Obama. Like, holy fucking shit, were you living under a rock when western media enthusiastically and uncritically helped push Dubya his narrative of iraqi WMDs to get an excuse to invade? About the only thing that's changed is that China's become the biggest target now.
@@magni5648 it was not as worst as now
5:43 a kid slips and falls down in the back of the class and another throws a piece of paper at him while he is down.
Fantastic video! As someone who has been to Colombo and seen the throngs of Chinese workers trying to negotiate what to do getting into the country without speaking a word of Sinhala, Tamil or English I wish the amount of employment opportunities these projects provide for Chinese workers was elaborated on a bit more.
Shouldn't projects taking place in Sri Lanka provide opportunities for *_Sri Lankan_* workers ???
But I guess you earned your daily Ramen with that comment... ;o)))
@@oooSoundOfLifeooo I agree with you-but that isn't the point of his video. Providing opportunities for Chinese workers-and a very specific type of Chinese worker is part of China's plan. Also ramen is Japanese....
Same thing is happening to here where I live and our government is doing nothing to prevent it. If you think they are just mere construction workers you better think again. How do mere workers have similar traits to those of military soldiers? Not only is China building infrastructures in our soils but also militarizing them.
@@CS-nn8zu Well, I'll give it to you on the ramen... but on China's plan, well, it''s precisely what I'm criticizing, the plan is what's not right!
Maybe people in Sri Lanka should learn Mandarin.
🇱🇰 here 🙋
If you are wondering why there are so many un-efficient infrastructure projects in Hambantota, you shoud get to know the narrow minded Rajapaksa family. Mahinda Rajapaksa former president of SL had a dream to make Hambantota as the capital of SL because Hambantota is where he was born and raised. That is why he made all those things. Original plan of Hambantota port was to make a fuel station for ships. After profiting from it, next phase was to create shipping docks. But he couldn't wait to see if thing could go forward. He did it all. Rest is history. This port never profited during all this time or at least couldn't balance the expenses. But Rajapaksa family gave too many jobs there for their political supporters. Rajapaksa family is extremely corrupted. From their inner circle to local thugs in villages, everyone is bonded with corruption. During his presidency he doubled(700k to 1.4M) government jobs by filling it with his supporters. Gotabaya Rajapaksa the current president also started his term with giving 100k government jobs.
I think no one in the whole world dare to challenge Rajapaksa family in corruption. 🙆
When the 30 years war ended Sri Lanka immediately needed investments for developing its infrastructure. Only China came forward at that time. After all, Sri Lankahas become the most developed nation in entire South Asia with highest HDI in the region.
😂😂😂
You are about to go bankrupt soon
Sri Lanka with highest HDI......still asks loans from low HDI nations nations of South Asia.......
Sri Lanka developed nation in entire South Asia.......still on the verge of bankruptcy in 2022 due to low forex reserves
Only god knows what development SL went through with Chynese help......and why now Sri Lanka’s financial position is so poor.........
Lol
Lol.. what a joke..😅
I find the fact that people are accusing this of being simultaneously pro and anti Chinese propaganda to be amusing.
the ones accusing it of being anti-china saw the intro without watching further. The ones who accuse it of being pro-china saw the intro, and were tricked into watching what turned out to NOT be the expected race-attacking hysteria-stoking fear-laden commentary they were hoping would further cement their already-biased opinions about a nation that gets continuously assaulted by western media with accusations that rarely rely on the level of factual analysis that Polymatter presents this time. Consequently the latter group will accuse me of being a Wumao having none of the critical thinking required to understand what I am saying.
@@goldsilvervscrisiscollapse4320 tbf it's difficult keeping a open and rational mind when this effects your life and livelihood as it does for a lot of people in SEA possibly including me who lives in the Philippines.
@@vincegalila7211 even more important for you to stay rational then! Imagine blaming your woes on the wrong problem, you might end up with a far less and far worse livelihood.
@@goldsilvervscrisiscollapse4320 that's why I read up on history and geopolitics and occasionally watch stuff like this.
Well this video is well rounded Propaganda, just enough hint of reality to make it believable.
The fact you uploaded a video on this channel about this is really hard to do, so I commend you. There are a multitude of people who will never listen to any facts and just like to parrot what the news feeds them. There will always be two sides to a story, and they both need to be heard. Great video.
Yea you can hear both sides. Only on isn't complete bullshit tho.
Stay Hungry, Stay foolish.
@@colecole3352 Fact shows that the Chinese side is the only one with truth.
@@lanlantulan Are you high?
@@No-uc1xs wanna try surfing on reddit one day and see what's their opinion on china?
Your more nuanced take, other than "China is pure evil", is appreciated. Subbed.
America is pure evil, they plunder the resources of Africa
In the case of Sri Lanka, I believe the country was under economic sanctions after a civil war hence its economic prospects which looked rosy before became unviable to repay loans for the port, together with debtors of several other countries. Am I right?
Yes you are
No
No
@@udhayakumarMN who put sanctions on sri lanka ?
It's not just sanctions, it's their own govt. messing things up - "Steep payments on international sovereign bonds, which comprised nearly 40% of the country’s external debt, put Sirisena’s Government in dire fiscal straits almost immediately. When Sirisena took office, Sri Lanka owed more to Japan, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank than to China. Of the $ 4.5 billion in debt service Sri Lanka would pay in 2017, only 5% was because of Hambantota. The Central Bank governors under both Rajapaksa and Sirisena do not agree on much, but they both told us that Hambantota, and Chinese finance in general, was not the source of the country’s financial distress."
"All these loans were obtained from China EXIM Bank, most at commercial rates. However, each loan had a grace period of around five years and a payback period of 15-plus years. For this very reason, the loan repayments for Hambantota do not amount to a large portion of Sri Lanka’s external debt servicing payments; some loan repayments have not even started yet. Debt repayments for the loans obtained for Hambantota port amount to only around 5 percent of Sri Lanka’s total annual foreign debt payments, and even less among total debt repayments."
"By the end of 2017, only little over 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt was owed to China and most of that was in the form of concessionary loans. Instead, the largest portion of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt was international sovereign bonds, which amounted to 39 percent of the total foreign debt as of 2017. These are commercial borrowings obtained from international capital markets since 2007, and such bonds have resulted in soaring external debt servicing due to the nature of the debt. Unlike in concessionary loans obtained to carry out a specific development project, these commercial borrowings do not have a long payback period or the option of payment in small installments."
Once again I find this quote to apply "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by stupidity" or incompetence and corruption
Add in some greed just to top it off.
There is an element of stupidity, incompetence and plenty of corruption in the meantime, you are too right. It is however also terrifically useful, ready made well prepared military infrastructure for when the time comes and who is going to stop them? It won't be so easy.
The action is what matters most, not the intent.
@@yuapanda i was gonna say selfishness but thats also very tru.
Corruption is malice. Enabling, perpetuating, and exploiting corruption is malice. That corruption leads to the defaults even if the project could’ve succeeded. That’s a dumb rule everyone keeps saying
Export capital is a common thing for all developed industrial country, it was natural and totally economic.
Of course, China will gain big influence during the process, but it was not the main purpose, just additional effects.
Main purpose was export capital and pruduction capacity to earn more money.
Woww I was definitely not expecting the turn of events in this video. Thank you for providing this perspective!
Awesome as always. Keep it up!
Polymatter, CaspianReport and Good Times Bad times are the trio of geopolitical channels on youtube
For Chinese engineers if the oversea investment involves state bank approval, put the BRI label on the form can increase approval rate. For Chinese officials and media, if the project succeed it is BRI. If it failed, the project never happened.
You know China so well
To be fair, this ain't even a Chinese thing. This is a human thing to not admit to one's mistakes, lol.
It's way too easy to fall into propaganda when most of your news sources come from places that more or less have ulterior motives to push propaganda either way.
@@tiffyw92 no china doing anything to not show face is china thing.i do agree other country do not show face such as america.but not the extreme that is china. Plus china will never admit mistake as the whole country is control by few elite people. To show face is like admitting failure at their job.
@@tiffyw92 u are right as human are too prideful but like their always is accountability? some china lacks
@@muhumedmohamud2356 that is not china unique problem , actually that iss world problem...
probably one of the first videos i've seen about china in africa that mentioned that the research about the debt trap debunks it, and that most of sri lanka's debt is owed to other countries.
Because these Western always spend time and make use of the people and resources and upload all the filming of the animals etc . make profit out of it instead helping them to develop the infrastructure for them to live a better life. At least China willing to started rather than those just talk no action for the last few decades. Right?
@@mhsim8819 Right
Even if it were true, in China it's called conspiracy. The only purpose of a country is to prosper its people and it cannot be completely selfless to other countries. A good government will find ways to achieve win-win, but it is difficult to do it every time. In this regard, China has done its best, and we have to admit that people have flaws, but at least we have not harmed others and not ourselves.
Yeah.......honestly I don't know what to say negative about this LMFAOOOOO
@Notrius I feel you on that bro but Americans came through with cattle slavery. China is enslaving them the same way we're enslaved: ridiculous loans with even more ridiculous interest rates. But honestly I'm right there with you bro
A thing I go back to on this is how China became unwilling to lend more money to Kenya for the SGR (new railway) because it was much more difficult to build than expected with less money generated than expected, and more corruption than thought. The original project was meant to be a railway from the Kenyan port of Mombasa, to other East African countries. It didn't make it out of Kenya, nor that far past Mombasa to Nairobi (the capital), leaving Kenya with the job of figuring out how to continue the vision.
It's with this that a lightbulb finally clicked and the government realised that the British did this years ago, so now a project is underway, locally funded, to fix up the MGR that the British built ages ago, make it usable again and use it as the basis to complete the rest of the project.
The local story/fear is that China wants to take over the Mombasa port as payment for the SGR, which Chinese officials have vehemently denied. But nothing has come out of that story yet, as far as I can tell.
Another point is the cost of the SGR: 3.4 billion USD. International railway experts estimated that the cost should not have exceeded 2 billion USD. The feasibility study was revised several times to proof that the SGR would make profit. In fact until today it didn't make any profit. End of 2019 Kenia was close to default on the loan and asked for restructuring which was secretly achieved with the help of the World Bank.
How were the 3.4 billion USD used? OK, the SGR was built, but a big portion of the money went into massive bribery to anybody in the government, parliament and administration in Kenya who had anything to say about this project. You can be sure that the president of Kenya got the biggest chunk of that money.
rumors always louder than truth, sadly but true.
I appreciate ur words as a Chinese.
I also don't agree that China lend our money to so many African countries with less payback.
It's wasting our tax.
@@stephen46xre86 Not everything is about profit, when you are educating your kid it is not with the hopes that they will be able to pay you back. It is the west that believes everything in this world revolves around profits.
Sometimes you take profits from other sectors to give none profit-making sector life because there are parts of an economy you just can't do without, profit or not.
@@wilsmithntum8643 Everything China wants is world domination.
In Africa, the westerners did what they never do in their own country, while Chinese is doing what they just did in their own country.
Doofus the Communist Chinese treat their own people like slaves. The Americans do not. Communism is not your friend. Look how Communism works in other parts of the world. Your intelligence from your statement says everything.
One French billionaire owns 20 or so ports in Africa, maybe PolyMatter can make a video about it.
Right or the actual debt traps by the IMF but noo let's keep chasing ghosts with this whole china thing
Wumao, you really working hard on this channel. Paid to also defend Chinas concentration camps and genocide of Uyghurs.
Maybe he make a video in Xinjiang
As long as you have a little brain cells, you won't believe in debt trap
Tell that to iraq many countries that west destroyed
Tell that to Sri Lanka mentioned in this video, which is now completely bankrupt after China refuse to delay the repayment
debt traps are part of capitalism. And china is capitalist
The major difference is in China even if a giant project is economically unsuccessful the government can afford to wait until It's not(like many chinese ghost cities are now bustling cities due to government incentives)but in Sri Lanka(or any other developing nation) they juat Can't do that for obvious reasons.
Not to sound too critical, but how much of that is due to economic growth? While China had accelerating economic growth, waiting for the economy to catch up to stalled projects isn't too much of an issue. China's economy is still growing, but the rate of such growth is slowing down -- hence the need to invest in international projects.
You answered your own question.
"in China" - it's in their own country. They can do whatever they want.
Sri Lanka(or any other developing nation) are not "in China". They are foreign nations.
@@darthvadeth6290 That's just reductionist and ignores the nature of political economy. Capital is needed to fund projects, and labor is needed to build them. If either isn't available it doesn't matter if it's inside or outside of China, it won't get made. As such, in the present economic world, a growing GDP is still needed to absorb the risks of such projects until the economy can catch up.
@@darthvadeth6290what "own question" are you talking about? What Foreign land? You high my man?
@@LaowaiDaveJCP China politics, economy structure is totally different from other countries in China due to one party system they follow same development model planned by previous leaders but this criteria don't work for other change of political parties means implementing new policies And making changes in old development model
The port was a Sri Lanka project at first with Singapore management. Singapore surrendered the rights to manage the port and Chinese firms were invited to manage the port. Most of the debt were and still is to western financial institutions at high interest rates. Chinese investors enlarged the port with the hope of more trade with India. India economy was then growing rapidly but has slowed down since then..
The port started construction in 2008 BEFORE the BRI announcement by President Xi in 2013,
I know that one of the objectives of the belt and road initiative was to ensure logistic independence for China in the event that relations with India break down. They're net food importers so trade is vital to them.
@@abebuckingham8198 The port started construction in 2008 BEFORE the BRI announcement by President Xi in 2013, Buckingboy. Go away and learn something useful besides lying
@@abebuckingham8198 China hasn't been a net food importer for decades. And even then a lot of their food imports are because their own agricultural sector is weighed towards cash crops and animal husbandry.
my parents are both work as senior engineer in Chinese state-own enterprise (not local level but nation level) and we have lots of boys and girls working in developing countries in Africa and Asia.
Let’s just said, those people work in their project are all learning and practice for years to be a skilled engineer like my parents did, I would said the last thing they would expect to happen is having a failure in their project.
Yet, there’s lots of problem exist, like the low quality local labors, terrible environment (political , infrastructure, natural) or other elements (I know a guy got covid after fully vaccinated, poor guy. They are the first wave who took the vaccine during July 2020 which is way before the vaccine introduce to the public, however their project are really in urgent and they can not count on the local for realistic reason. )
It’s really upset to see their hard work are described as some sort of evil plan.
You know, not everyone want to enslave Africa, someone might really try to invest there that make it a better place instead of what British did in India.
Yeah, most professionals, wouldn't want their project to fail. Especially engineers
It is a sorry state, you know the situation and how your parents give their all to improve other peoples' lives, but you ain't gonna get these clowns to appreciate this fact. Accept that they think they are funny, but they are not, they are clowns though
China is pure evil, COVID was China's bio weapon. 😐
don't be that pessimistic, just referring to the hot comments above@@yoyolim538
I think China and Africa have been got benefit from the infrastructure construction in Africa. The railway construction is useful for related country.
I saw a lot of people mentioned that China is not using a large portion of local workforce as an alternate way to discredit the Belt and Road Initiative. Are the construction projects about completing the infrastructures or training local work force? Chinese companies aim to finish the projects efficiently and I can't see how hiring incompetent local workforces would help to acheive this goal; there's a reason why African countries choose Chinese companies over domestic ones.
Looks like Western propoganda has rooted deeply and brainwashed a lot of people, such that they always view everything China through twisted lens
That's such a dumb answer.The reason why China used its own workforce is not because they are more competent than locals(otherwise they would stop doing that in european and gulf countried where there are many local professionals) but because they want to give jobs to chinese labourers while the construction industry stagnated in their homeland.
The locals obviously hated this policy because they usually dont profit from the infrastructures and want benefit from the cost of the construction,something the chinese denied to them
Like in China itself no foreign countries can invest without being forcefully tied to a local partner.Hypocrite much?
@@ihavenojawandimustscream4681
First, the local partner requirement is also fulfilled in all BRI projects, or otherwise Chinese companies wouldn't even hire a single local worker for the project. To validate your point, you have to refer to similar projects, such as the high speed rail way built by Japanese company in India, and prove that these non-chinese related infrastructure projects hire a considerably larger portion of local labors than those by Chinese company.
Secondly, I don't recall any Chinese company building infrastructures in developed region such as Europe, maybe 5g tower? For roads or railways in Afirca or 5g towers in Europe, Chinese workforces are definitely more familiar and competent than the domestic labors, otherwise the local governments wouldn't even choose foreign companies over domestic ones in the first place.
Can confirm. Here in Bangladesh we have so many skilled workers who already worked on megaprojects in the Middle East and Malaysia. So Chinese companies just hire these workers instead of bringing over Chinese workers
omg, i have NEVER seen more objective explanation of a topic that political, thank you. u can indeed see the world in colour, not just black and white.
Beware of loans with "low" interest rates and little to no conditions, they may have another set of terms and conditions.
Sounds like my credit card, where the bank even “rewards” me after I spend the money that is not even mine.
the eurozone debt crisis was exactly that, low interest rates encouraged scandinavian countries to lend to southern european countries. there were little to no conditions led to an inability to pay back and a domino effect of rising debt and devaluation of currency
@@daeseongkim93
Specially in Greece, a country that hid its true economic capacity with accounting tricks to be able to enter the EU and then borrowed money to feed an inflated public spending until the bubble burst
I used to work for a Chinese company that helped build power grids in Africa。We wish to provide more steady supply of power but there are many problems .The corrupt and the poor efficiency，and hostile environment. In fact with higher labor cost and dely of time limit,this project has no profit for us.
The loans from IMF and World Bank have been purposefully made to indebt developing countries and get their strategic resources and industries. China's ones are way fairer. But making competition to IMG, World Bank is bothering them.
The debt trap narrative only became a thing as a way to target China but poor countries have always been in debt, the main difference with China is that there is less control, not no control less control because while beggars can be choosers their choices are limited.
I remember a saying from when I was little: the British will give you rice, the Chinese will show you how to farm. (I think that's how it goes)
China knows it needs developing countries and though some of these projects fail it doesn't gain from their failures. The expansion of Africa's economy contributes greatly to the Chinese economy just as the Chinese economy did to Europe and US, funny how no one cared about debt trap back then. This is up to the African people to realize the opportunity and make the best use of it, some will and some won't.
Merry Christmas and Happy holidays!
I understand that's a Buddhist/Hindu swastika but is kinda weird from a German. Hope the swastika's reputation improves
@@angsern8455 Yea hope its reputation improves, its really inconvenient when people confuse it.
You should see "The Myth of the Chinese Debt Trap in Africa" put out bu Bloomberg. I believe UA-cam has a recording.
Thank you. For doing research and finding the actual truth. Your titles are never outright clickbait.
*The should add another voice using polymatter's voice says "Western powers have been doing this for centuries in 1000x scale - why is white people never reports it?? Oh wait - - it doesn't help them keep their domination and weaken their rivals - - however bashing China and stir conflict between other countries does. Have you ever heard of McMahon Line? Why is a western name in an Asian border and is Kingdom of Hawaii, Guam, the Natives people (the real owner of the US itself)*
@@robertgittings8662 just because the west has a dark past of colonialism dosen't mean China should follow in its footsteps.
@@angryrushfan7725 Just because the west has a dark history of colonialism should It assume China is going to follow its steps.
@@moe_is_justice8559 The CCP has shown its quite capable of committing crimes against humanity within its own borders, what makes you think they won't do the same on another continent?
@@angryrushfan7725 There are a lot of fools that think just because it is coming from China it's better are more "Pure" that anything the West ever did.
You can call them Communists, I call them Neo-Commies, or "the new dumb."
Someday, somehow, those 3rd Worlders have GOT to figure out how to do things for themselves, and gain the faith in themselves AND their fellow man to take that leap.
Until then, they will always be at the mercy of those practicing "Wolf-Warrior" tactics..... and what the West did is nothing compared to what China is/will do.
Thank you for giving such an unbiased review concerning China!
Great unbiased analysis of Chinese Debt Policy.
I love how the end of the video basically says
chinas master mind plan is secretly just
"Build shit,
?????????,
PROFIT!"
I am a you-tuber from China. Love your videos bro
Sup bro
Nice UA-cam channel
Wait you got UA-cam in china
UA-cam is literally illegal in China along with most other social platforms...
Spammer lol
"Africa is not a country".
I guess you do learn something new every day
What??
That's insane. Africa is not a country?? I never knew.
english speakers are mostly americans so he has to highlight this fact
Africa is a country the same way Europe is. Both Africa and Europe is united under one flag.
@@NeostormXLMAX trueee hahah
Americans generally don't see the countries in Africa-- they only see Africa as a whole. This is because most Americans really do not care. It's much easier to group things up and refuse to see the nuances. Since most English viewers tend to be America, this is the way it is innit.
China “doesn’t ask why” these nations need money for investment, just “how much and when?”...sure, that sounds realistic
Man gonna make money one way ir another. And they aint too picky.
rephrase it as, "China sees potential in undeveloped nations and wants powerful allies for the future."
Calling this Neo colonialism only serves the purpose to delude what colonialism really was.
This sounds exactly like what I read in the book "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man".
Much better than the truth about Europe in africa
The fact that you told the truth only after 4 and a half minutes of video means that a huge percentage of people watching this would have been misinformed :( I make vlogs and news vids straight from the streets of China.
Exactly.
我差点儿取关了，还是从Reddit一篇文章跳回到这个视频。
And 我有关注你哟 lol
Wumao
@@ninakore “what a stupid son of a b***h. “Joe Biden
I feel like a lot of people didnt get through the first five minutes before disliking or commenting
The story telling just keeps getting better 😍
Thank you so much for such a absolute banger 🥰🤗
Their ultimate goal is likely to develope these countries then spread Yuan in their market. Eventually building an economic block that use Yuan as its key currency. Replacing the influence of dollar. The only way that China can match the United States is to take the status of dollar in global trade.
Exactly....this video has two goals, selling this guys product, and softening criticism of China. They play a long game and want this to be their century, with the yuan as world reserve currency. rival factions vying for currency control, they all do it, and China is stepping up its game...
Doesn’t sound so bad actually. I think a lot of people would be down with decentralizing the “world’s reserve currency”. It’s been a lifetime since ww2 and the global economic system desperately needs a revamp. I wouldn’t mind using the top 5 major currencies in a “weighted currency basket” as a reserve currency instead of just the dollar.
@@kirkampong6449 ...They already are in the form of SDR's ( Special Drawing Rights)...the dollar's status as world reserve currency is being eroded, and that IS bad because the IMF's goal is a single global currency, as laid out in their 2010 report on the matter....
@@WHACK_space_rock interesting stuff. Went down a little rabbit hole on this reserve currency stuff, and tbh idk how it’ll end up. I do still think it will take a while(like a decade if I had to guess) to change the RC and obviously the US economy has to be be taken into account to avoid economic issues that could result.
As a Chinese, I have to say, yes we are making money out of African people’s pocket, but during the business, we also build many factories, shops, schools, railways, highways in Africa to help African countries able to buy more products, African people also can enjoy all the cheap and relatively reliable products. African people are not stupid, if those westerners could offer better deals, I believe African people will choose those westerners.
Before you blame China, think about what did you do in Africa? Colonisation? Killing? Slaves?
@Barra NZ get some education so that you understand the meaning of slavery.
@@MrBlinder514killing slaves +racist
China 1
Context, remember, context.
What colonization did to India, China, rest of Asia, Africa & South America in the last century. Most of these countries were victims of very understated trauma.
No bad deals can be worse that being under oppression and systemic inequity by fascists.
one of the problem with Chinese loans is that they required Chinese manpower of at least 50% Chinese, from the project's highups to the low-skilled labourers, which doesn't really help the skill development of locals as well as transfer of knowledge.
what do you mean? 50% Chinese skillful workers can guarantee the efficiency, while the other 50% loca workers can guarentee the technique spread, I think this is a wise decision.
lol , dealing with high-risk warring possibly future defaulting countries is itself is a charity ..🤣🤣
You're expecting too much if you think building a port or a bridge can transfer much technical knowledge. Once completed, these projects are only meant to ease the commercial aspect of trade and travel so the population can BEGIN to prosper, only then will the government have more revenue for better schools and medical facility and families can keep their children at school longer through and better education allowing vacancy for skilled labour. It's a gradual process that'll take two generations at least. This has been China's model, there's no short-cut but if these countries can study and refine this model, it can be slightly quicker.
Still far better than Bombs and guns 😂😂😂😂
is like you asking me to do a software for your airport
i do it and you can read it, can you learn from it? yes,
will they teach you? yes,
but all this need to be done under a specific timeline
and the contract is about finishing the work in 3 years
I love how the west is so quick to judge but ignores what NATO did to Libya and what the US did to Iraq and Venezuela
glad to have watched the complete video. very balanced approach. ✨
Was expecting anti-China propaganda but I'm pleasantly surprised.
Finally an accurate and objective video on Chinese lending abroad. Seen tens of videos and news giving their half assed analysis based on shaky sources. Great job and subbed
I disagree. They are creating their 'investments' in Serbia too, but what they don't show the world is prisoners that work in factories, living in factories and working for 16 hours a day. Our cancer related deaths have tripled since they arrived cause of all the pollution they are causing.
@Frank Lucas Not really. More accurately would be: Working in a factory like a slave for $300 a month, while the government is forcing locally owned firms to close so the Chinese ones can take over and lover the wages.
The average car age in Serbia is 18 years old used cars... Don't pretend you know everything...
@Frank Lucas 1. NO IT DOES NOT. The prices are exactly the same as the rest of the Europe and the US. Please don't talk about the stuff you know nothing about.
2. If bringing over slaves and blackmailing workers is called efficiency, than okay...
3. Here is where I see you don't actually know anything. The locally owned businesses are the exact same factories... They close them down under the explanation that they are causing environmental damage and not following protocols... then sell those same factories on auction to China.
4. You said we get iphones and CARS in exchange... I'm telling you we do not cause rarely anybody here has any money for a new car.
Again... life here is HORIBLE... and every year they just make it worse.. .
We're protesting on the streets every weekend, blocking highways. Hundreds of thousands of people are protesting because of stuff like this... So yeah, I would say it's bad...
@Frank Lucas And here's some quick math on how I spend my $350 salary in Serbia.
Rent = $200
Electricity = $50
Heating = $80 (all year round, even in the summer you have to pay it)
Water = $20
And for food and other essentials you can get an extra job... because fuck us
@Frank Lucas ua-cam.com/video/Qu9xJvMU9Ps/v-deo.html
Just take a look at what we have to do every month or so when stuff gets out of control. Otherwise they would literally enslave us.
And please don't give me a story about democracy or something that we can do to change the system if we don't like it... because in countries like this, democracy doesn't exist
Seems like China should read Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Although I have read (a number of years ago)China was interested in sending a small % of their workforce (about 300 million) to various African countries to "help" with agriculture ,manufacturing , construction etc.Wonder if that is still on the stove.
300 million? Whoever wrote that knew less than nothing. Also, that's a small percentage? 300 million is literally more than 20% of China's entire population.
@@magni5648 Still leaves over 1.1 billion people in China I guess its all relative. Some would consider that a good ROI. Btw it was written by someone who has spent over thirty years working with various African Governments maybe not a knowledgeable as you seem to think you are but at the time , twenty years ago when I remember reading it things where a little different.
Liked and Subscribed. I have been waiting for a video like this for ages. All the people in my life have different opinions on China, and this just helped me clear it in my head
Thank you for your nuanced and refreshingly measured take on these issues.
As a Hong Kong citizen, I am very proud of the achievements of China.
First time I saw this kind of comment lmao
@@taejo4975 u obviously haven’t seen a loy
@@铭记历史拥抱未来 All I saw was bunch of anti-Chinese stuff, hell even my video suggested laowhy86 or SerpentZa even when I said to not recommend the channels. Annoying sometimes
Great video and glad to see someone not engaging into the Cold War and propaganda narratives against China and gives an objective analysis
China a disgusting greedy country
@@RandomKourosh Not any more or less than France, US, UK... No country does charity, every country is in it for its benefits
If China is disgustingly greedy, I'd say no other major powers are less...
@@archivedumaroc I would say at least France, US, UK are transparent and voted by its people (to certain degrees). A greedy dictatorship is worse than a greedy elected president.
@@firewoodloki What do we care we in Africa about your democracy. Those things benefit the citizen of those countries and no one else. Most of European countries were democracies while colonizing Africa, that didn't make things any more enjoyable.
Really, it is a good review and insight. Instead of China's Debt-Trap, what practically we have seen in Ethiopia is Western's Aid-Trap (weaponizing aid). That is why we Ethiopians are saying " #Nomore".
Peace to ethiopians 🙏🏽 . Good job👍🏽
Greetings from India.