Why is China on a spending Spree.....and is the Caribbean for sale?
By Jay P - June 13, 2013
 |
| Photo credit: Peter Fuchs / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA |
What would you do with $1 billion dollars?
These projects include, Bahamar, a $3.5 billion dollar mega hotel which is suppose to be the biggest thing since sliced bread by advancing the gaming and luxury hotel brand in the region, but in reality is just another Atlantis. At present we have no idea if two mega hotels can exist within the same region/island or whether both hotels will cannibalize one another. Additionally, what will happen in another economic global recession? Will the country have two giant paperweights dragging the country down? China's goal is to bring the Macao brand to the West with Bahamar.
Another Chinese backed project is the newly built Thomas A. Robinson Stadium, an Olympic quality Track & Field Stadium built as a gift by the Chinese government and handed over to the Bahamian people. The opening ceremony marked a grandiose event, highlighting Chinese influence on the Bahamian economy. Since opening in 2012 the stadium has already hosted the Carifta games, basically the Caribbean Olympics, for the youth ages 20 and under. Additionally, the Chinese government has built a new embassy in the Bahamas and has definitely left a mark in the Bahamian economy. I always thought the invested interest of the Chinese government in the Bahamian economy was especially peculiar and I did not understand why? I did notice that the Chinese were importing a lot of their workers to build and run these entities that they had a financial stake, but admittedly that just seems like normal business practices.
On his most recent western trip, President Xi Jinping made his mark on the western civilization visting the Caribbean, Mexico and the USA. Bahamian officials flew to Trinidad & Tobago to join president Xi, marking the apparent influence of the Chinese government within the region and solidifying their stake in influencing their invested interests. The Chinese government also gave money to Trinidad and Tobago to build an international sporting complex. President Jinping has been quoted as saying that "Trinidad is the most attractive Caribbean economy." They [Chinese govt] are also loaning 3 billion dollars to Trinidadian officials to bolster economic infrastructure which include a children's hospital valued at $150,000,000 and supply grants for young people to study in China. China has also agreed to send hundreds of doctors to Trinidad to staff these hospitals. Admittedly, Trinidad is a major oil export so it is understandable why the Chinese would invest interest in the region, they have something they want. But what about the Bahamas? What do we have that they want?
China has offered loans to 9 Caribbean countries totaling 3 Billion dollars.
It is quite apparent that China is flexing its economic prowess to the neighbors of the Americas. A world away one has to wonder the economical benefit of the Chinese government investing a financial stake within the Caribbean region. In Trinidad it is clear they are interested in their natural gas resources to feed their own growing energy demands but in the Bahamas what may be their motive?
Personally, I believe we are witnessing the next evolution in colonization. The last major advancement in colonization was Britain, which occupied foreign entities with military force, through navel ships giving birth to America, the Caribbean, and India as we know them today. China, a country with a billion citizens with dwindling resources has decided to expand their reach across the globe and the best way to achieve that accomplishment is through flexing their economic muscles. It has always been known that the Caribbean is the neglected cousin of the Americas (North & South). A bunch of tiny little islands known more for their natural beauty rather than natural resources. The USA has always been the place to be, and South America has always been a land of invaluable resources.
China has realized that the Caribbean serves a purpose as a colony. By investing heavily in these neglected territories they have secured the advancement of their people to this region. With the loans provided, the Chinese govt has secured rights for its citizen to work and migrate to the region. Fast forward 20 years from now, and these locals may be overrun by Asian immigrants. Its the long game China is playing. And honestly, its a smart game. China knows they can never buy their way into America, but with a population 80 miles off shore, they are guaranteed to subvert their way into american culture. This ladies and gentlemen, is the new class warfare, occupation via colonization, through monetary globalization.
China is on a mission to colonize the globe, and in a world where most countries are introverts and interested in maintaining their local brand this kind of thinking may take the world by storm and change the international boundaries as we know them.
4 comments
I enjoyed reading this post. Glad to see someone else thinking about the topic of Chinese influence in the Bahamas. I taught English in China for several years and only returned to my home in Florida about four months ago. So you can guess how surprised I was when I visited the Bahamas with family last week only to see the familiar scene of a Chinese construction site complete with the typical oversized Chinese banner hanging off the building.
ReplyDeleteI just noticed today that China only has two embassies in the Caribbean, one in Grenada and one in the Bahamas. This suggest they have chosen to place heightened focus on the country. However even after thinking about it for a while, I find it difficult to determine what exactly China would get out of such arrangements other than establishing a base of influence close to the USA. Your idea that China may colonize the country is a new one to me and sounds a little extreme, but 20 to 30 years from now when major powers are competing to become the new world hegemon, who knows. It's even possible that China itself doesn't even know what it wil do but is just building a doorway in the event an opportunity should arise in the future. They have that much capital to throw around.
The problem with the Bahamas is that its economy isn't diversified and is mainly focused on tourism and off-shore banking. Because of this, the Bahamas are extremely vulnerable to influence from foreign countries with significant numbers of visiting tourists. More worrisome is that China has used tourists in the past as political leverage against countries that have spoken out against them on politically sensitive issues (ex. France, Japan). If China ever wanted anything major from the Bahamas in the future, the leverage would likely come from their ability to reduce tourism after the Bahamian economy has become dependent on them.
Thanks for your insight! I agree that my conjecture on chinese colonization is a bit extreme, but its based on the Local governments recent changes in visa protocols for chinese citizens to visit and work in the Bahamas. And with a clear presence in the country it seems as though China can demand just about anything from our Govt right now. I am more concerned with the apparent lack of trepidation about such gifts and the significance that these "gifts" may have in a long term basis. The Bahamas govt, typically has an inability to look beyond a 5-year time frame wich concerns me. But I appreciate your insight and I will look more into China's influence in other countries like France and Japan to become better informed what we as a people should be on the look-out for.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are absolutely right the Bahamian economy is far from diverse which is why I feel such moves to further adhere the economy to the whims of tourism are anti-productive to economic independence, and propose more pressure on foreign direct investment in an unsustainable fashion.
It was a good read and like your comments suggest, a bit extreme. I would say, however, that I don't think their motive is colonization. To me it's primarily revenue driven and secondarily driven by employment of its abundant and cheap work force. If you think about it, the main reasons we are taking these loans is because China is offering the so-called good interest rates. That could be true if the rate was the only thing we have to consider (2% is still a high rate when you think of that amount of money). But when you think about the caveat that China's 'expertise' is also 'required' to build these structures then we have to factor in the total cost of these funds. Like the missed opportunity of jobs to supplement our fading construction industry. The minimum wage of The Bahamas, I'm sure, floors China's minimum wage policies, hence, not only is China making interest revenue, thier workforce (or perhaps the Chinese government itself) stands to make well in excess of what they would be paid in almost any other country. So, in the end, not only has China solved its own potential construction industry crisis, they have gotten us to pay for it at premium wage rates. Just another case of one man's trash if you ask me.....
DeleteValid point Sir. The "premium wage economics" accompanied by such construction endeavors does require a high level os skilled labor that favors chinese immigrants. And you are right, the Bahamas' minimum wage standards does help solve the economic issues faced by chinese ex-patriots who come to the Bahamas to work. But to the point you have addressed, are we sacrificing the prospects of our own labor force to make such deals, and what are we really gaining in the long-term. The inability of local government to maintain projects is well documented, so without a local influx of measurable talent/skill to maintain such extravagant projects, are we basically flushing money down the drain?
DeleteBut I think the overall tone I am attempting to convey is that this is only just the beginning and although it may seem simple I think there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.