comment: >
  
  belt and road.............................
context: International competition can be a good and bad thing. Somaliland has made clever use of China/US tensions by openly supporting Taiwan in a bid for US support. Elsewhere I imagine if you're a leader who wants better terms for Chinese investment, you could play up the threat of going to the US or France. >
  
  The reality is however that no one plays fair, which is why it's mostly a bad thing for the countries involved. >
  
  in the long term, it is good, but just like everywhere else where poverty exists there will be a lot of suffering >
  
  In this thread 'colonialism is good actually' - think you missed the mark on that one. >
  
  There's a fair bit of nuance between foreign investment and full-on British Empire colonial oppression, so just boiling things down to be this simplistic is going to miss the mark.
  That being said, pretty sure China is going to lean more towards the latter. >
  
  What's ironic is the British Colonial Empire was one the more lenient ones. The French, German and Belgian Colonial Empires to name a few were much more repressive and brutal. >
  
  Brits just wanted money and goods to sell for more money. And then to use that money to buy more goods to sell for even more money. That’s all.
  They had no desire to build a museum for their slave’s lopped hands. >
  
  Well they also explicitly wanted to dismantle the local cultures of sustainable farming and production in order to inculcate the ideals of wage capitalism. >
  
  Soo… they wanted money? >
  
  “All of you should let us have it. Fuck off.”
  -this guy >
  
  Clearly he has forgotten that time England (Edit: United kingdom) owned everything. Look at me! I am the imperal england now! >
  
  Don't forget the French, Portuguese, Belgians and Germans. >
  
  Don’t forget Romans. >
  
  
  Don’t forget Romans
  
  And what have they ever given us in return?
  Revolutionary #1: ...The aquaduct?
  Reg: What?
  Revolutionary #1: The aquaduct.
  Reg: Oh. Yeah, yeah they did give us that. That's true, yeah.
  Revolutionary #2: And, uh, sanitation.
  Stan: Oh yeah, the sanitation, Reg. Remember what the city USED to be like.
  Reg: Alright, I'll grant you the aquaduct and the sanitation. The two things the Romans HAVE done.
  Matthias: And the roads!
  Reg: Yeah, well obviously the roads! I mean, the roads go without saying, don't they? But APART from sanitation, the aquaducts and the roads...
  Revolutionary #3: Irrigation?
  Revolutionary #1: Medicine.
  Revolutionary #5: Education?
  Reg: Yeah, alright, fair enough...
  Revolutionary #5: And the wine! >
  
  This reads like a monty python sketch >
  
  lmao that would explain it! It's been too long since I've watched Life of Brian, obviously. Sounds like I've got my Friday night planned out! >
  
  My work is done! >
  
  Forgot the hidden part of the headline.
  "...he says as China competes internationally for economic influence in Africa." >
  
  China: “Africa should not be an arena for international competition. So gtfo”. >
  
  Yeah China doesn't want competition as they seek to lock down resources in Africa >
  
  Yeah Reuters doesn't want to inform readers as they seek to selectively quote people for their ragebait headlines.
  
  "Africa should be a big stage for the international cooperation, not an arena for major countries competition," Qin said at a news conference with AU Commission chair Moussa Faki. >
  
  For years china has been heavily investing in East Africa, however the concessions they have been demanding have become more and more imperial in nature. This has led to a huge downturn of opinion towards China in those nations despite the investment. China has its colonial ambitions to, always has. >
  
  Also from your article, "On a separate question about which country, China or the U.S., respondents would prefer to have as the global superpower, 20 of the 25 countries polled chose the U.S., including all four Africa nations by a huge margin."
  Same poll. So apparently they see China as a positive to the world, but they see the US as an even bigger positive. Do you also agree with that statement? >
  
  You know that seeing China as a positive and having the US as a superpower aren't mutually exclusive right. >
  
  Yes. It was more of an ideological consistency question >
  
  China wants to play "Monopoly" with itself. >
  
  Always have. >
  
  "Dueling with dildos is not part of new world order", said minister Liu buckling up the final strapon on his diesel-powered mecha suit "People's Penetrator 5000" >
  
  Got me good. The people's penetrator LMFAO >
  
  You'd love the monster truck in Idiocracy: The Dildozer! >
  
  Translation: “We don’t want anyone competing with us for Africa.”
  EDIT: Got a lot of CCP simps in the comments, better scare them away. Ooooooh human rights, ooooOOooo rule of law ooooOOoo free speech, OoooooOoooo Tiananmen Square oooOoo
  EDIT AGAIN: Whoever gave me the awards, I hope you always wake up well rested and your bread is always perfectly toasted. >
  
  That always blew my mind, how the Chinese justify things. 
  “You did similar stuff decades or even centuries ago so we can do it now”, my brother in Christ you are insane >
  
  I was in a Power and Privilege Class for grad school with a woman from China. I've lived in China and speak a bit of the language, this woman was VERY culturally Chinese. Critical of the government, but had really drank that middle-class kool-aid for a long time, to the point where issues of injustice were just petty squabbles she didn't have time for.
  Basically any social justice issue she would respond with, "Who cares? That happened a long time ago." (things like Jim Crow, Native genocide, LGBTQ people in mental institutions... things that were going on less than 100 years ago) We had to work together on a project about Native folks in the US today, and even at the end she asked me, completely seriously, "Why are they so angry? They say "their" land was stolen, but why does it belong to them?" It was.. baffling. This was a 40 year old women in a mental health program.
  This is kind of the angle the Chinese government takes with anything. Great Leap Forward where at tens of millions of Chinese died? Get over it, it was a long time ago, gotta crack a few eggs, etc, etc. China throwing Uighurs in camps and whipping African miners? Who cares, the West did that and that's how they got here! The past doesn't matter cause it's gone, present actions don't matter because other people did horrors in the past. >
  
  Yeah but see what happens of you mention that Taiwan hasn't been under their control for almost almost 80 years.
  Also the whole "what once was China will again be China" bullshit, get over it, it was your now it's isn't, move past it Charlie! >
  
  Tell that to Tibet. 
  China's claim to Tibet is from like... 1000 years ago when a Tibetan warlord owned part of Western China, if I remember correctly. >
  
  that’s a good one, reminds me of one I read a few weeks ago, about a Russian claiming that Rus built the Great Wall of China, to keep the Chinese out of Russian Mongolia >
  
  Conveniently forgetting that Rus are Ukrainian ahahahaha >
  
  I thought Rus were originally from Sweden? Russia is therefore Swedish. >
  
  They must have found a map with dashed lines around the continent. >
  
  Everyone knows it’s always been part of China how dare they insult us with this aggression we are outraged !! >
  
  Is this a "note to self" situation??? >
  
  This is very similar to the recent COVID story. They require a PCR test for foreigners entering China, but other countries doing the same is a "politicization of the issue". >
  
  
  
  Has 10,000 firms In Africa
  
  
  Holds 200b in African debt
  
  
  The largest global share in Manufacturing, Engineering, and Real Estate in Africa
  
  
  Ranks 3rd globally in Foreign Direct investment to Africa
  
  
  Of course they don't want other countries Interfering in their economic conquest of the African Sub-Continent. 🥴 >
  
  As per the infamous quote from C&C Generals:
  "China will grow larger" >
  
  China is fast losing its right to complain about colonialism. >
  
  China has engaged in colonialism for thousands of years >
  
  Looks at medieval Vietnam >
  
  There's a Vietnamese aphorism that they like to bring up when they're asked why they're in the US camp vs China given the whole history there.
  "We fought the Americans for twenty years, the French for two hundred, and the Chinese for two thousand". >
  
  Says the people making africa an arena for an international competition >
  
  Let’s be fair: the continent has always been an “arena for international competition”. 
  It we’re talking sub-Saharan africa only, that’s been a gladiator ring for Western powers for roughly 300 years, and in some of the ugliest, bloodiest ways imaginable.
  The only thing that’s changed is that China’s now also in the forum, and has firmly planted its stake (in select strategic areas) in an ingenious but highly predatory manner. >
  
  Even now any politician talking about his country keeping revenue from their own resources to re invest it back into their needs gets outsed very quickly for more foreign investment friendly leaders >
  
  Oh, 100% - also, with how relatively new sub Saharan countries are just as defined, independent entities, and how recently most have had violent conflict either within or at their borders, that requires leadership that knows how to handle all the domestic complexities  AND that has the strength/force to stand up to predatory foreign interests. 
  Not only is that an almost impossible standard and incredibly rare, but even they do make it to power and manage to avoid being deposed or assassinated, the odds of them going full authoritarian within a few years is super high. >
  
  China has its economic fingers in nearly every country in the world. They know they don't want a war because no one would survive it, economically or in any other way. They want world domination via having a controlling interest financially. >
  
  That's what xi wants, but it wont happen. Within ten years they will have too many domestic issues to worry about anything outside of their border. >
  
  One can only hope... >
  
  Talking about a massive multinational multicultural continent like a country is gross. >
  
  No problem Jinping, please continue to offer predatory infrastructure loans to Africa with their minerals / natural resources as collateral. We'll just look the other way. 
  Colonialism part 2, electric boogaloo. >
  
  Says the country systematically putting every African country it can get to under crippling debt peonage. >
  
  Laughs in belt and road initiative. Fuck this guy he’s either lying out of his teeth or implying only China should get rights >
  
  China just fuck off and shut up >
  
  China: For too long have imperialist European and Western powers taken advantage and abused Africa for resources and we say NO MORE! ^it’s ^our ^turn >
  
  Lol, china is making it an arena for international competition. Doublespeak >
  
  I read the title and then looked at the sub name, expecting to see r/nottheonion >
  
  »Yes officer, please send some men. We’re trying to throw a giant party here and my neighbour’s loud music is annoying.« >
  
  Then why are they using it as an arena for international competition? >
  
  We will "squid games" you for it, sir! >
  
  Aren't they the BIGGEST exploiters of African mines and child labour? >
  
  Why isn't this in r/leopardsatemyface ? They've been doing this for years. >
  
  CHINA Definitely SHOULDN’T ever be the HOST to ANYTHING PERIOD…… >
  
  China sounds like an abusive partner that stands up for his wife in public mean while beating her when at home >
  
  China should be an arena for international competition, says u/redditmbathrowaway. >
  
  “So stop trying to compete with us so we can extract huge profits.” >
  
  "Stop offering African nations options" says man trying to debt trap all of Africa >
  
  Can’t compete if they hold a monopoly 
  taps mineral reserves >
  
  I feel like this is what I say in my head when I’m at the buffet waiting behind anyone. >
  
  That moon’s looking like some pretty sweet real estate, too. >
  
  Err… China have been heavily investing in African countries. Of course they’re going to say that. They invested $43.5bn in 2020. They have a horse in the game and don’t want anyone else to win… the game being resource procurement/exploitation. 
  It would be a lot better if those African nations were the ones exploiting their own resources and making a profit. >
  
  ITT literally 90% of comments didn't read past the headline's selectively cut-off quote. The title blatantly misrepresented the statement to get an emotional reaction.
  Personally, i'm glad China is more involved in Africa, not because i want them to own it/exploit it (they will try), but because the west/IMF have given them horribly exploitative "deals" for decades. The West has to be more fair in our dealings now to prevent African countries from accepting the many objectively better deals currently offered by the Chinese government. 
  It's objectively good for Africa to not be near exclusively exploited by Western corporations who have enslaved/scammed them out of rights to their own natural resources/ability to improve civil infrastructure with the investment. Competition in Africa is the only route to effectively securing their sovereignty/future, sadly. Africa could've been solidly in favor of the West, but we completely ruined that.
  Global capitalism from the West and China will still exploit the hell out of Africa regardless, but it will likely be less agregious. >
  
  Proves how ironically, it's the westerners too that are brainswashed beyond belief. I've read a harvard study disproving Chinese colonialisim and debt trap diplomacy but everyone i've showed it to didn't believe it. >
  
  The West has been doing it so long that it feels natural. By comparison, China changing the paradigm ever so slightly feels unnatural. >
  
  People love capitalism until they actually experience competition. >
  
  Hot take (perhaps) but isn't international competition what Africa needs? >
  
  There is no word for “Hypocrisy” in mandarin. >
  
  Because China want it all for themselves. >
  
  Ngl, just from the title, I thought he was saying “Don’t hold the Olympics in Africa,” and I couldn’t help but think, “Why would you ignore an entire continent like that…?” >
  
  Hahahaaha after they’ve already gotten numerous African countries to join their belt and road exploitation/corruption racket. >
  
  Biggest wtf face ever >
  
  Damn, so many CCP supporters in the comments >
  
  The CCP can get stuffed. >
  
  If anything, unless you want Covid, CHINA should not be the arena for foreign travel. >
  
  Just us! 
  Convenient >
  
  Funny stuff China man. Fool me once. >
  
  so....... stop competing then.... >
  
  That's rich >
  
  "Yes, please do not compete with us in Africa. Thank you." >
  
  Easy for him to say. They’ve been in Africa for the past decade, they don’t want competition. >
  
  Let’s see what horror they bring. >
  
  Kinda like a OJ doing a PSA lecturing about the ills of domestic violence. >
  
  Good grief. This is like a prequel for Metal Gear Solid. >
  
  Hahahahah >
  
  "Leave some cake for the rest of us!" - The guy shoving the entire cake into his mouth while waving the knife at anyone trying to get close to it >
  
  Should just be China’s arena for rare mineral mining slave labor though I suppose? >
  
  Says the chinese been “leasing the land for 100 years” and lobbying and basically taking over Africa and destroying their land as we speak >
  
  Africa would be much better off if it was the arena of an unchallenged Chinese monopoly /s >
  
  “Africa should be exclusively ours to exploit.” >
  
  Says the country currently colonizing Africa. >
  
  This time colonialism is going to work out for Africans. Really. Trust us. >
  
  "says the country that has monopolized its exploitation" >
  
  “It’s ours, back off!” >
  
  lol….. look at what China has spent on Africa compared to other nations and now alot of fruit is bearing. >
  
  These guys are funny. >
  
  
  ... Africa should be a big stage for international cooperation
  
  Wonderful headlines.
  In practice, where is China willing to cooperate?
  What specifically is China willing to do on an international basis?
  Today, Africa is facing a major food shortage due to Ukraine war.
  Is China willing to tell Russia to pull back, and stop impeding grain harvesting and shipping?
  Didn't think so. >
  
  Africans have a lot of problems that have nothing to do with the Ukraine war. China was also aggressively investing in several African counties long before the war started, and brought a lot of bad and (some good) with all that money.
  It feels a little Eurocentric to expect an Asian country to change their position on a conflict between two European countries to demonstrate their honesty in supporting African countries. Call me crazy. >
  
  Yes stop competing. It is getting expensive for China >
  
  Yet another proof of China's hypocrisy >
  
  China does not have the right to complain after it's numerous human rights abuses. >
  
  Says the country that's competing in Africa >
  
  with a straight face >
  
  Man, the Onion couldn’t have done a better job with that headline. >
  
  He's absolutely right though. China should fuck off. >
  
  
  "Africa should be a big stage for the international cooperation, not an arena for major countries competition," Qin said at a news conference with AU Commission chair Moussa Faki.
  
  Reuters sure knows how to leave things out of their headlines to push an agenda. >
  
  Fuck China. >
  
  Okay, get out of Africa then. >
  
  "Because we want Africa all to ourselves", >
  
  Neither should your little muslim concentration camps, but we dont live in that world do we >
  
  At least the Chinese have a sense of humor >
  
  
  says the guy forcing african countries to build chinatowns after buying their fertile fields
  
  ^^blocked ^^blocked  ^^blocked  ^^ya ^^all ^^sinoagents ^^getting ^^blocked >
  
  No! After China was caught bugging the African Union building with surveillance tech for their own interests. Tech buried deep in the walls. And the off brand heavily surveyed network tech China sells to African governments and citizens is obviously being used against their interests. It’s down right evil. >
  
  Reminds me of Putin's recent "ceasefire" request. >
  
  No, the brutal Chinese dictatorship shouldn't be allowed to trade with anyone, invest anywhere outside of mainland China, or have international flights until the government is replaced with a democratic one and guilty parties are punished. >
  
  then fuck off and leave it alone? >
  
  My mother worked as an epidemiologist in Liberia and Rwanda for several years during a few outbreaks in those regions. Chinese hospitals and infrastructure were going up like crazy everywhere. The debt trapping method they use is ingenious and sinister. Hell, even Ethiopia has a new rail system built by the Chinese. >
  
  Yup, also worked in Rwanda when the road network was going in/getting extended - China’s lending model is a hell of a proposition, especially when you consider the various  “economic development” models offered up by the West in the post war era (and that’s without even touching the horrors of colonial “civilizing” efforts). 
  Because yeah: the transportation networks and infrastructure projects are pretty incredible, and represent tangible, transformative benefits for huge swaths of population….“ingenious and sinister” is about as good a description as I’ve ever heard. >
  
  It was hard to argue against it when there were brand new, state-of-the-art hospitals being built where none existed, but you got a sense of a kind of take over and, “men in fancy suits slowly taking over your life,” vibe. >
  
  There’s the general creepy vibe having a wave of super competent people sweep in and then “poof!” a ton of modern, essential stuff (like a reliable electrical grid), will seemingly just appear…
  …and then there’s the more genuinely chilling stuff, like seeing the geologists doing assessments alongside the roadwork, or heading about the docks being built in order to bring in all the materials needed to create all that fancy new infrastructure. 
  Because China offered up pretty damn reasonable financial terms (far better than anything offered by western institutions), but the access and ownership rights that countries gave up to secure those benefits…yeah, don’t think that there’s ever been anything quite like it,  and just the uncertainty around how fully China will exercise those powers is scary shit. >
  
  CCP, you do realise you need more than yourself to play the Monopoly right? >
  
  If those competitions will do someone life better - maybe should. If on the contrary - probably no. Anyway, Taiwan should not be an arena of Chinese military competitions. And maybe China should transform its politics of human rights and try not to help neo-fascistic russians with economic while they kill people in Ukraine >
  
  Aka “only we are allowed to buy up Africa” >
  
  So he's the foreign Minister making that comment, knowing how many countries they have slaves working. How about the world serves them and look into human and animal right issues. >
  
  Like China really give a fuck about Africa 🙄 >
  
  So leave us to it >
  
  Needs to travel back in time 500 years if he wants that. >
  
  How bad would it be to be an African neoslave to a Chinese master in your African birthplace.  We can fix this >
  
  In other words: “DIBS!” >
  
  While they are sucking it dry. What a bunch of douches. >
  
  If iceland said this i would take it more seriously. Because they aren't currently the same at the very moment.
  Not to mention them literally trying to take over east Asia. >
  
  Says the foreign minister of the country colonizing africa as we're speaking. Don't want competition for those sweet sweet resources in African huh? >
  
  What a horrible fucking government. I honestly believe that the CCP is made up of reptilians. >
  
  It’s always best to practice what you preach, China. >
  
  "Because we want all of it.", he continued. >
  
  The CCP is gonna have to do some rather extreme things to resolve its demographics catastrophe. Don’t be fooled by whatever they say. If they wanted to help the world, they would not be fearful of “competition” >
  
  Maybe we should just gift all the world’s copper to China? >
  
  They just wanna keep whipping African slave workers and strip mine the shit outta the continent. >
  
  🤣🤣🤣Then why are you there, are you going to take in refugees/immigrates… >
  
  Bhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah! Oh my god, im crying cause im laughing so hard. >
  
  Dear China, that's not your decision to make. It's up to the countries of Africa who they want to trade with. >
  
  Sooooo fuck everyone else except us? Typical China... >
  
  Says the guy from the country that is literally abusing African countries into submission >
  
  So weird this happened after countries began reserving production of their rare earth minerals within their own countries. Shocking. >
  
  China does not want the competition. >
  
  The west: you're about 200+ years late, we've already been there and done that >
  
  …they say as they move their shit over into Africa >
  
  “WE’RE THE COLONIZERS NOW” >
  
  … says China.