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Niger declares American military presence ‘illegal,’ kicks out U.S. troops (www.liberationnews.org)

submitted 7 months ago by SourCape@lemmygrad.ml to c/worldnews@lemmygrad.ml

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[–] Sodium_nitride@lemmygrad.ml 67 points 7 months ago (4 children)

During the congressional hearing, Representative Cory Mills grew visibly frustrated as he recounted how China “continues to promise railways like they did between Djibouti and other areas to try and link trade, they promise electrical terminal capabilities with hundred-year leases to try to create these reliances that has weakened America’s ability to be able to compete with them in the non-kinetic [non-military] influence capabilities,” to which Langley robotically admitted, “We know that we can’t keep up with the Belt and Road Initiative of billions of dollars in infrastructure.”

This brings a smile to my face. Based China improving the lives of people.

[–] 201dberg@lemmygrad.ml 46 points 7 months ago

China is building the world we should have had. The world that could have been so much sooner. Had it not been for the Capitalists and their imperialist dogs.

[–] erik_houdini@lemmygrad.ml 42 points 7 months ago

Wow, who would have thought a country designed around one thing and one thing only, and that being one quarter of profits at a time, is incapable of competing with a country that's designed around the long-term sustainability of communism and the working class.

[–] Tankiedesantski@hexbear.net 32 points 7 months ago

Tfw you specced into pure murdering black and brown people and then the meta shifts to helping black and brown people.

[–] Shrike502@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

with hundred-year leases

This part is giving me pause. Is it true?

[–] SSJ2Marx@hexbear.net 21 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'm still reading but it seems like he might be referring to Hambantota International Port. Per Wikipedia:

Construction of the port commenced in January 2008. In 2016, it reported an operating profit of $1.81 million but was considered economically unviable. As debt repayment got difficult, the newly-elected government decided to privatise an 80% stake of the port to raise foreign exchange in order to repay maturing sovereign bonds unrelated to the port. Of the two bidding companies, China Merchants Port was chosen, which was to pay $1.12 billion to Sri Lanka and spend additional amounts to develop the port into full operation.

[–] Shrike502@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

That's a strange event. So the government privatised the port (which we all know goes swimmingly, just look at post-Soviet Russia), China swoops in with investments (which is normal), but then gets a century long lease. Why? What for? Do they get exclusive rights for using the port?

Just strange stuff all around

[–] SSJ2Marx@hexbear.net 14 points 7 months ago (1 children)

"Privatization" but the owning company is another country's state corporation - come to think of it, that also happened to British Rail, with big parts of the line being bought up by other European countries' state train companies.

This all happened pre-COVID too - most of the articles about the Belt and Road failing are about debts going bad directly as a result of COVID's trade slowdown, so whatever the heck is going on it appears to be to be a one off at the very least.

[–] Shrike502@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I never said BaR is failing. I am merely trying to parse the logic of action. And so far I am unable to

[–] SSJ2Marx@hexbear.net 6 points 7 months ago

Sorry I didn't mean to imply you were, it's just that almost every article I fouund talking about this was covering it from the angle of "here's why the BAR initiative is collapsing (2023 edition)".