| BBC NEWS | Programmes | Newsnight | China to seal $9bn DR Congo deal –This is one of those China-Africa deals I’ve been harping about on the weekly No Agenda podcast. If you read between the lines you can see how the Chinese are operating in Africa. |
|
Due to be signed in Beijing in the next few days, it gives DR Congo $6bn of desperately needed infrastructure – about 2,400 miles of road, 2,000 miles of railway, 32 hospitals, 145 health centres and two universities.
In return, China gets a slice of DR Congos precious natural resources to feed its booming industries – 10m tonnes of copper and 400,000 tonnes of cobalt.
Its a barter deal – what the Chinese side loves to call “win-win”. Not aid with strings attached, like Western powers have given DR Congo over the years, but pure business.
Any bets that they get started on the mining before the 32 hospitals?
Here is the kicker paragraph late in the article:
A copy of the original DR Congolese-Chinese memorandum of understanding obtained by Newsnight appears to exonerate the Chinese side from all taxes and customs duties until the promised building work is completed.
So the Chinese flood the local economy with everything from spatulas to food to computers paying no duties. This goes into the local economy and drives competition out of business. They keep this up forever because there is no timetable in these deals and the building work is never completed so the Chinese get this sweet deal forever as they stall on the projects while raping the mines. Slick. This was explained to me two years ago yet nobody does anything about it. Oh, and in the process, the Chinese colonize the area since they have to bring in their own workers. Everyone will wonder what is wrong with Africa when someone gets a clue and the populace goes on a rampage and butchers all the colonists some years from now. Unless, of course, the Chinese bail out by then leaving half-finished projects and the country in a shambles with no resources left. They can then blame the Western powers for somehow meddling. Somehow the USA will get blamed. Smooth.
Found by Andrew Tong.
Out of site, out of mind…until something blows up!
Every empire since the dawn of “civilization” has done this. Just look how the colonial powers before China did it. Now, the old colonial powers are whining of China doing it. If it has gone unnoticed by someone, China has military ambitions which reach well beyond protecting itself. They’re learning from the big bully on the block… and they learn fast. Oil and minerals are strategic resources and they’re going to make sure they get it.
It’s a good deal for Congo. China doesn’t want to fuck up a deal like this. They will want to make this a repeatable process so they can acquire the natural resources. They can use this a reference of sorts. The U.S. would be smart to pay attention to this. It sure beats the shit out of looking for some WMDs that aren’t there and then starting an expensive non-stop war.
What if we had given Iraq half of the money we spent on the war and they gave us oil in return?
#4 – Pedro
What the heck do you think the Iraq war was all about? Let me give you two clues, it was not about WMD and it was not about toppling a dysfunctional regime. Come on… you can do it… just think about Venezuela… you can do it…
And so what if they open a few dry cleaners and Chinese restaurants. One final comment, the Africans I have met in the U.S. were outstanding people.
I’m curious to see how the Chinese handle the massive, rampant corruption that is integral to every country in Africa.
My guess is, the railway will get built (because the Chinese need it to export the raw materials). But the hospitals, health centers and universities will never be more than cleared lots with big signs out front saying “Future site of…”
So what? And we should care about this for what reason?
It’s their country.
EVERYONE KNOWS HOW THE WORLD WORKS.
this the same thing the usa does in all latin country bigger fish eats the small one
It makes Americans feel secure to presume China will make all the same mistakes the US did – aping all the same mistakes the Brits did after they dropped their crumbling empire in our lap.
Fact is [1] the French learned from their own colonial mistakes and have rebuilt trade with everyone who kicked their butt out – from Algiers to Guinea to VietNam – [2] the Chinese have learned to deliver on more than their predecessors if for no other reason than they won’t and don’t end up being kicked out of the countries where they’ve moved into the economy.
Their 1st Free Trade agreement was with Brazil. New Zealand has similarly signed on. Are we to presume only white governments are capable of managing international trade with China?
John, Pedro, et al –
I think it’s become so easy to yell “It’s the USA’s fault” because we’ve done so much stuff that we probably shouldn’t have, or acted with equal disregard for the welfare of any number of other countries. People believe it because we’ve done it before.
Also, we’re the biggest target. The day people start yelling “It’s the Chinese’s fault!” and everyone gets behind them will be the day that we will know our economic, military, and sociological empire has passed into history.
john, has american imperialism (not 1 or 2 hundread years ago, today) become to passe?
i’ve listened to you for 3 years on various podcasts and come to the conclusion that you’re a bona fide anti-chinese bigot.
And John’s a bona fide anti-American bigot. And John’s a bona fide anti-Bush bigot. And John’s a bona fide anti-Hillary bigot. And John’s a bona fide anti-Microsoft bigot. And John’s a bona fide anti-Apple bigot. And on and on and on.
It’s called “Being A Crank”, and that’s why we love John.
Keep up the great work John!
#13–Andy==in the arena of economic competition, shouldn’t everyone who is NOT x be against X?
Why shouldn’t everyone who is not Chinese be against the Chinese–and why shouldn’t everyone who is not American be against the Americans?
That’s on the issue of economic competition. Hold that thought.
The Chinese government is just as corrupt or more so that ours. The difference is that their government seems to have more competent leaders while we have idealogical buffoons. Good luck China. I hope you survive your success.
14, john takes a clearly different tone of singular attitude and purpose when discussing china than that grab-bag of topics you flittered off. look up bigotry sometime, i know what it means, thank-you. by the way, he passed me a note in gym class – he thinks you’re cute too.
I’m just guessing, but I bet that the deal allows China to bring its own corruption-breakers with them. A well-armed force. Just think of China as a hugely-integrated corporation, and the world’s largest. Love it or hate it, they now have construction cred by completing the Three Gorges project.
They’re not replacing USA or Britain, but Bechtel.
Eat crap Andy. I love China and the Chinese people. It’s these schemers I detest. I guess you are pro-sleazeball.
I guess by your high standards none of this should ever be discussed. Pull out the race card when it happens.
As for your definition call-out. Let’s examine.
Main Entry:
big·ot Listen to the pronunciation of bigot
Pronunciation:
\ˈbi-gət\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
French, hypocrite, bigot
Date:
1660
: a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance
I’m not devoted to any hatred of the Chinese people any more than I hate Americans because I criticize George Bush or condemn modern business ethics.
People like you, who are apologists for shady business practices love to throw out terms such as “bigoted” or racist when any even minor criticism of any agenda to which you obviously subscribe, actually sicken me.
@#16
The difference of china and the Good ol’USA is their leaders. Not because some fundamental shift in IQ of the general population but because their Leaders are not elected, nor do they have to please the general populace. It sounds Fascist, but actually it is just a point of view.
Democracy has some weaknesses, being the first one being based on the people’s rule. So lowest common denominator dynamics apply.
Coupled with the fact that the more equal and typified people are, the more advantage the real powers (Economic,Political…)have. Without excellence,over time will tend to idiocracy.
Of course, being the misanthrope that I am, my concern is how this will affect the conservation of bonobos and their habitat as well as all of the other wonderful wildlife in one of the biological hot spots of the world.
#21–Scott==here is a clue. Last month, another large mammal species went extinct==the Chinese Yanteze River Fresh Water Dolphin.
No notice was taken.
And to think we thought it was all about rap music.
After reading the comments that condemn China for its practices I couldn only think “look who is talking”. The USA have been doing MUCH worse ALL OVER THE WORLD for YEARS and YEARS! Colonizing, terrorizing, destroying cultures. You are the last people to talk.
#22 – pedro
That’s right, pedro… oil. You won a tractor!
#23 – bobbo,
… Last month, another large mammal species went extinct==the Chinese Yanteze River Fresh Water Dolphin.
No notice was taken.
(snark)
You think the Yangtze River dolphins didn’t notice? How is that possible? Or, do you think only humans count? Nothing you’ve said in the past has led me to believe you are a fundamentalist. However, evolution certainly doesn’t teach that humans are so special. Instead, evolution says that we are part of the animal kingdom and somewhere along a continuum rather than something apart and something fundamentally different.
(/snark)
Sorry for the snark. Well, not that sorry or I wouldn’t have typed it. But seriously, of course people noticed or you would not have heard about it. Clearly the environmentalists were unable to convince the Chinese government to take meaningful action to rescue the species.
Also, even if it were true that humans did not notice the loss of a species, it would not mean that the species was unimportant. Even if all one cares about is humans, even if one doesn’t care about our closest evolutionary cousins, or species with 20 lb brains, or species that can sing individual thirty minute long songs that the creature modifies over time, even if one doesn’t care about loving and altruistic non-human species, it will turn out that if we lose one too many species, our own will not be salvageable.
A healthy biosphere provides us with oxygen, clean water, fertile top soil, and many other services that one might think are impossible to value. And yet, natures services to humanity have been studied with an eye toward valuing the services provided. The conclusion was that nature’s services to humanity are worth an estimated $30,000,000,000,000 per year. Yes, thirty trillion dollars!! That is more than three times the amount spent so far on the Iraq war. If we don’t protect nature, we will have to cough that up every year to provide those services for ourselves.
Personally, I think this is naive. I think that we physically would not be able to do it at any price. But, that’s just my opinion and carries no weight. Read the article for expert opinion.
Perhaps we don’t notice a species or two. Several went extinct while I was typing this. How many more can we lose and not notice? How long before the world biosphere collapses to the point where it cannot support humans anymore?
My little two cents.
Let’s face it, China made a good deal for itself.
A little bit about how Chinese businessmen think. Chinese businessmen separate the political/social/environmental from the economical. When they make cute plastic dolls to sell to America while polluting their drinking water, it’s two separate issues. Economic (selling dolls) and Environmental (polluting water). They don’t mix the two. No linking allowed. It’s cultural.
So, the Olympics Vs. Human rights? Two separate issues. And they resent foreigners trying to link the two.
The Congo is in a good position. They have a military that can shut down the mine whenever they want, (this is the risk the Chinese take), and if the Congolese government is at all awake they will demand improvements on a reasonable schedule according to the contract they signed. They might even extort a few favors along the way.
And if they don’t demand something within a reasonable time frame, the Chinese businessman, according to Chinese custom, will put the blame on the Congo for not being more diligent while the resources are being depleted.
And of course the US will be blamed because we buy the Chinese products which used raw materials from the Congo, and so it goes…
I had a mate who used to work for an oil company over in Nigeria for a while and the situation is pretty much identical to that of the DRC. – Foreign companies come in, rip off the locals (with the governments support no less) and all in all the people at the bottom suffer. In Nigeria the situation has become so bad that there are now groups going around doing their utmost to disrupt the flow of oil by any means necessary. My friend left about 5 months ago after the tug he was captaining was hit by several RPG 7’s.
He said that he bailed for the DRC as it was safer comparatively, I wonder though reading about this latest deal how long that will remain so.
#28–Scott==snark indeed. I should have had my sarcasm or sadness button on?
There was no notice “of note” such as to alert more than the few who care, such as to prevent the next species from going extinct. Certainly the dolphins didn’t notice==there aren’t any. You have “to be” to notice.
So, ain’t communication great?
#29–Ah Yea==those things are all separate. Just because anyone “can” link any 2 objects, concepts, things together does not negate the fact they remain separate.
We both know “the Congolese” will watch the Chinese not deliver on promises while a very few Congolese Officials take the hush money. I don’t think there are enough other resource rich African Countries to make a good faith effort to suck them in. Officials in those other countries as they may exist, can be paid off too. Same deal, same outcome. Everybody is happy–as in everybody that matters.
Goran in #25:
You would have a more valid point if the comments here were saying we should rape other countries in this way. Just because Americans and other countries (including past and present African nations) have done this in the past does not make it right. I didn’t see any comments defending this way of doing business, other than saying it was less harmful and more profitable than military action.
#32, Bobbo, that’s probably right.
#32 – bobbo,
I guess I wasn’t clear. The dolphins noticed as they went extinct. First they noticed fewer and fewer of their friends, family, and mates around. Then they noticed as they died.