
A Chinese Company Reshaping the World Leaves a Troubled Trail - petethomas
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-09-19/a-chinese-company-reshaping-the-world-leaves-a-troubled-trail
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mothsonasloth
When I went to visit a friend in Zambia you could see all the infrastructure
being built by the Chinese, however much to my friends disappointment they
have completely bypassed the local economy.

He says they setup work camps and have facilities so they can be isolated from
the locals. A Chinese worker won't spend a single Yuan in Zambia.

He joked that it's colonisation 2.0

~~~
wu-ikkyu
>He joked that it's colonisation 2.0

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocolonialism](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocolonialism)

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throw2016
Here is Texaco-Chevron completely destroying the water supply in lago agrio in
Ecuador and refusing to pay even after multiple judgements against them in a
court they agreed to. [1]

Given this story you would think Bloomberg would be equally 'concerned'. But
they are defending Chevron in that case which means they do not really care
about the issues discussed. [2]

And this is not new. This has been happening for decades and there is a long
culture of exploitation and decimation by any country that can get away with
it perpetuated under cover of this kind of fake concern and selective outrage.
Needless to say these problems won't be solved without a more sincere and
serious global effort.

[1] [https://therealnews.com/stories/chevron-arbitration-
ruling-a...](https://therealnews.com/stories/chevron-arbitration-ruling-
against-ecuador-completely-off-base)

[2]
[https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-07-12/chevron-n...](https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-07-12/chevron-
nemesis-steven-donziger-pays-a-price-for-ecuador-lawsuit)

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mciak
Worth remembering that you'll find similar complaints about construction
projects within Chinese borders -- this isn't necessarily reflective of China
being cruel to the developing world. Instead, it is a consequence of a country
where things are done differently going abroad.

~~~
emodendroket
I'd say construction overall -- construction is one of the ripest industries
for graft all over the world.

~~~
AnimalMuppet
It's not just graft, though. The article also talks about environmental
damage.

Now, construction can also cause environmental damage worldwide. (By
definition, it has to cause environmental change in some way.) But some may do
better at limiting the environmental damage than this company does.

~~~
emodendroket
I'd argue it's more a function of operating in states with poor oversight
mechanisms.

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njarboe
This article does use a standard unit of size, the American football field,
but introduced me to a new unit for weight, the Toyota Camry.

In all seriousness, I don't mind weird units when they are a small multiple of
what is being discussed. Like 2 Olympic swimming pools of beer or the weight
of a fully loaded 747. But the point is that people don't readily understand
large numbers. Saying the sand "weighs as much as 70 million Toyota Camrys" is
no better for people than saying it weighs 250 billion pounds. How about 20
Great Pyramids? Someone who has seen the Pyramids will have some idea of the
magnitude then.

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cyjyar
This Chinese belt&road thing is a bit weird, as a project: it's unpopular at
home, it's controversial in the target countries, it's had no real benefit so
far, and also it's tremendously expensive while the Chinese economy is slowing
down. It's like the Chinese gov thinks building new roads will expand the
economy, but these things take time to get a ROI -- if they succeed at all.

It really feels like a soviet 5 year plan. Bureaucratic delusion.

~~~
ElBarto
It has a lot of benefits for China.

But as often China is capable of drawing a plan over 50 years and to execute
it over that time frame.

What they are doing is developing and reshaping global trade routes around
China.

That's a strategic, long term plan.

And yes, building roads and railways will expand the economy. Let's remember
how the US developed the West.

~~~
cyjyar
The US developed organically, here it looks a bit more like a forced march.
Not saying it cant work, but it looks more like a bet than a plan.

Also, the only "50 year plan" I can think of is Den Xiaopin opening the
economy, and it went through because he was still powerful and alive until a
few years ago. And it was more like a 30 year plan. Do you know many great
long-term successes from them? Because they're more famous for things like the
great leap forward.

~~~
richsherwood
After Workd War 2 the US was in the unique situation of not being completely
decimated by the war. They used this leverage to craft trade policies to
benefit the US economy by relying on their weight. To say that the US growth
was purely organic is not quite hitting the mark. By all intents, it was
forced to a large degree and perhaps with even more bloodshed than we’d like
to admit. With that being said, the US growth model is not the only model that
exists, it just so happens it was the most recent and most successful to date.
But I would say that the rate of growth in a China is unparalleled, especially
in the last 30 years. Going from one of the poorest countries in the world to
what they are today is mind boggling. The growth itself is unsustainable
unless they take forced measures of building the infrastructure out to allow
the growth to spread out. It’s going to be interesting to see how this all
plays out and even more so with the current political climate in the west. I
imagine the US isn’t just going to roll over and let it’s dominant position be
taken from it so easily but we have to remember, there hasn’t been a single
empire in history that has stood the test of time. The way China is
approaching things might not be the best way to do it but we won’t know the
true cost of today for another 30 years down the line.

~~~
cyjyar
Ha, I missed the mark here. The comment I was replying to mentioned 'railways'
and 'the west' so I was thinking of the American West. Older use-case, and for
national/internal development. You are right that the Marshall Plan is a good
equivalent example. But I think its thinking was more obvious: it's either us
or the soviet, and also rebuilt economies had only one major economy to trade
with. These gave the USA major leverage. I don't see it here, leverage is a
lot lower.

~~~
ElBarto
Yes, I meant the American West, which was opened by the railways.

