Small Asian Countries Should Avoid Debt Trap China – OpEd AS PAKISTAN HAS DONE
While China is showing its military muscle power to India, Japan and a few other Asian countries, in the case of other small Asian countries it is showing its economic muscle power to bring them to their heels.
Most of the small Asian countries do not have the capital and resources for investment in projects and therefore they seek overseas investment and funds, almost desperately. Such overseas investments come not only from China, but from several other countries. However, there is a significant difference between the investments and collaboration from China compared to that from other countries.
It is now well realized by most Asian countries that China has definite objective of dominating Asia and bringing it under its thumb, so that it can remain as the undisputed leader of Asia and then extend this domination to other parts of the world. The recent activity of China clearly indicate that it has no hesitation to use its economic muscle power to achieve its objective of dominating the other Asian countries with weak economies.
China is investing heavily in the small Asian countries and extending soft loans to several of them to implement tprojects. This creates a great opportunity for China to open the market for its products to these countries and also dump its equipment and machineries there.
Though China claims that its investment, economic aid and soft loans have no strings attached, the ground reality is different. With huge soft loans extended to the Asian countries that have no resources to invest and in the event of these countries unable to repay the debt and interest, China is bound to force them to convert debt into equity in various projects aided by China and in the process, China would get some level of control in the economy and governance in the Asian countries in later days. There are several signs of this already happening.
Sri Lanka and China
Sri Lanka’s estimated national debt is around 64.9 billion USD, of which around 8 billion USD is owed to China. It is reported that Sri Lanka now spends 90 percent of all government revenues to service debts.
Obviously, the Sri Lankan government is now realizing the possibility of its getting into the Chinese debt trap and consequent threat to its sovereignty in the long run.
It is reported that the Sri Lankan government has decided to revise the agreement with China regarding its Chinese built southern port of Hambantota, where the Chinese government owned China Merchants Port Holdings, which built the port for 1.5 billion USD, signed an agreement earlier taking an 80% stake. The Sri Lankan government is reported to have decided to limit the Chinese company’s role to run commercial operations at the port and not permitting any military activities.
This decision of the Sri Lankan government to limit the activities of Chinese company in the port would certainly displease China and it remains to be seen how China would react to this decision in the coming days.
Bangladesh and China
While Sri Lanka is now facing the threat of debt trap from China, the situation faced by Bangladesh is no better.
China has provided large soft loans to Bangladesh to fund the China supported projects in Bangladesh. It is quite likely that Bangladesh will not be able to repay the debt in the foreseeable future. China clearly knows this. China is now demanding directly and indirectly to change the pattern of loan for the projects and converting it to commercial credit, which would bear higher interest rates. While Bangladesh has resisted the Chinese demand so far, it remains to be seen as to how long it can do so.
Mongolia and China
China now accounts for around 68.5% of Mongolia’s foreign trade between January and May this year, which has gone up from 1.5% in 1989. Such trade relations with China is pushing Mongolia into a debt trap. Mongolia has considerable coal and copper deposits and China would be eyeing these deposits , if and when Mongolia would not be able to honor the trade commitments to China.
Pakistan and China
China–Pakistan Economic Corridor; also known by the acronym CPEC, is a collection of infrastructure projects that are currently under construction throughout Pakistan. Originally valued at $46 billion, the value of CPEC projects is now worth $ 62 billion. CPEC is intended to rapidly modernize Pakistani infrastructure and strengthen its economy by the construction of: modern transportation networks, numerous energy projects and special economic zones.
Almost the entire investment in the Economic Corridor Project is made by China, as Pakistan has little resources to spend for this project. China is supporting the Economic Corridor Project by investing in equity and extending soft loans. Pakistan will not be able to repay the debt and the interest in the foreseeable future
China’s investment and involvement in various strategic projects in Pakistan are so deep, that there is no way that Pakistan can get out of China’s strangle hold in future.
Nepal and China
China’s investment in Nepal is now steadily increasing and the politically, economically weak Nepal is rapidly coming under China’s economic dominance.
Venezuela and China
In the case of Venezuela, China has invested over $52 billion USD and Venezuela with its weak economy will never be able to pay back the debts. China’s investment is now partly by equity and rest by debt.
All the Chinese loans to Venezuela are commodities backed , under which Venezuela is obliged to keep supplying to China millions of barrels of oil to feed the Chinese economic boom.
Long term game plan under progress
China is emboldened in it’s strategies to economically subjugate the Asian nations by the success of its game plan in Pakistan, where China’s domination is now almost complete.
North Korea is another region where China’s game plan to dominate has been well executed. This isolated country is almost entirely dependent on China now and perhaps, it has already become an extended territory of China.
Another ongoing game plan for China is in Myanmar where a natural gas pipeline is being laid from Myanmar to China and in the coming years, sale of natural gas to China would become the main economic stay of Myanmar and Myanmar need to keep China in good humor all the time.
While the smaller Asian nations do have apprehensions about China’s long term game plan, they seem to have already partly fallen into China’s debt trap.
You have no first hand knowledge about Chinese investments in Pakistan. Thus your opinion is just that- an uninformed opinion. Chinese are strategically invested in Pakistan. If Pakistan were to default, Chinese would be happy to offer IMF style rescue Package and it would be up to Paks to accept Chinese rescue or IMF. This simply gives Paks far superior infrastructure and options down the road. It also makes India less relevant to Pakistan and beyond.
Well, every country and institution (IMF, WBank, etc.) that offers loans has the potential of trapping poor countries. Actually most if not all poor or emerging countries are trapped in those loans. What’s the difference with China? So only the USA or USA-controlled lenders have the right to lend (and subsecuently, control/dominate) other countries? Don’t be ridiculous and tell the truth. Your article is tendencious. The USA and other developed countries dominate the world, have their military bases and military/naval/air forces all over the planet, push other countries to open their markets and accept the invasion of imported commodities that destroy their industries; those same developed countries overexploit the developing/emerging countries’ labor, loot their natural sources, pollute their rivers, air and ground, tell them how to live, what to think, how to manage their internal affairs, invade them, send their drones there, kill or kidnap people… and you blame only China for seeking the same path? China does not respect HHRR, I don’t like China’s regime or dictators, but they are not worse than the democratic gangs and greedy corporations of USA and the rest!