China's Double Tongue

China's international relations present a complex and often contradictory picture, leading some to perceive a double-tongued approach to global affairs. On one hand, China professes a commitment to peaceful development and global cooperation, while on the other, its actions and alliances suggest a different set of priorities.

CHINA'S TRUE FACE OF RESPECT FOR OTHER STATES SOVEREIGNTY
The independent, self-governing state of Taiwan remains an issue and central point of contention, while it could also work with it bi-laterally and independently. China insists on reunification, by force if necessary, while simultaneously supporting Russia's justification for its actions in Ukraine, where separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk seek self-governance and independence. This apparent contradiction raises questions about China's commitment to national sovereignty and territorial integrity as universally applied principles.

China actively cultivates an image of a peaceful and friendly nation, eager to engage in mutually beneficial partnerships. However, its establishment of the BRICS economic bloc, with the inclusion of countries like Iran, Uzbekistan, Russia, Belarus, and Ethiopia, raises concerns. These nations, facing accusations of authoritarianism, terrorism, dictatorship or state failure, cast a shadow on China's claim to promote a rules-based international order based on peacefull principles.

In fact, the BRICS union is at war with itself. Russia is an authocracy at war with Ukraine, Belarus is a plain dictatorship, Iran is an authocracy at war with Israel, Uzbekistan is an authocracy with widely spread suppression of its population, and Ethiopia is at civil war. That are the friends and alliances of China, a precursor of where it stands for.

Despite its rhetoric of peace, China's actions in the South China Sea tell a different story. Its territorial claims and assertive behavior towards Taiwan, the Philippines, and other neighboring countries contradict its peaceful image. Similarly, its vocal support for Palestine, while remaining conspicuously silent on Ukraine, highlights a selective application of its principles.

In conclusion, while China actively promotes an image of peaceful development and global cooperation, its actions and alliances raise arguable questions about its true intentions. Its stance on Taiwan, its support for Russia, its economic relationships with autocratic and dictorial regimes, and its engagement with developing nations all contribute to the perception of a nation speaking with a double tongue, pursuing its own interests under the guise of global harmony.

CHINA, A NOVEL COLONIZATION OF AFRICA
China's economic activities further fuel these concerns. While presenting itself as a benign partner, it maintains close economic ties with many African dictatorships and failed states, from which it sources oil, minerals, and other resources to fuel its manufacturing hunger-engine in China. This pursuit of economic growth often comes at the expense of environmental concerns and human rights in these resource-rich nations. It also conflicts with the African Union's efforts, that suspended some of them.

Furthermore, China's engagement with developing countries in Africa and South America has been criticized as exploitative. Through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and BRICS-led development projects.

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) presents a distinctive approach to infrastructure financing in African nations, diverging significantly from traditional multilateral institutions like the World Bank. Beijing's state-controlled apparatus unilaterally determines the allocation and terms of these investment loans, a process often lauded by recipient countries for its speed and fewer initial conditionalities. African governments, in dire need of capital for critical development projects, receive substantial sums. However, these loans come with a significant obligation: not only is the recipient nation bound to repay the principal, but the interest rates often lead to a total repayment sum that can effectively double the original loan amount over its term.

A pivotal and frequently scrutinized aspect of these agreements is the mandatory engagement of Chinese state-owned enterprises, such as China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) for instance, as the primary contractors for these projects. This stipulation means that the investment funds, once disbursed by the Chinese government to the African nation, are then largely paid directly back to these Chinese contractors for project execution. This mechanism effectively repatriates a substantial portion of the loan capital directly back to China, limiting its circulation within the local economy and significantly diminishing the potential for indigenous economic stimulus. While some local, often unskilled, labor is employed, the higher-value contracts, skilled positions, and procurement of materials largely remain within the Chinese contractor's ecosystem, thus curtailing local capacity building and the development of local industries. In this fashion the receipient nation pays China back its fund three times! (It pays back the investment fund, it pays back its interest rate, and it pays back the lended project money to a Chinese state owned contractor. China does not take any risk, it cashes in two times!)

This financial model frequently places recipient nations in a precarious position, where a significant portion of the borrowed funds circulates back to the lending nation, and the economic benefits for the local economy are often minimal, despite the country incurring the full debt burden. And thus foreign debt of African nations have grown explosively. Defaults on these high-interest loans are not uncommon, frequently leading to China acquiring long-term management control or outright ownership of strategic assets, such as ports or toll roads, effectively 'holding' the indebted nation as leverage. In light of these challenges, proposals such as the UNDW's Direct Investment Bank emerge as a contrasting vision, aiming to provide a more locally beneficial and equitable framework for development finance, one that prioritizes the sustainable empowerment of recipient nations over the recycling of capital back to the creditor.

China's growth of military might and nuclear power is certainly worrysome and concerning. It not only aims to dominate its expansionist dominance in Asia and the South Pacific and South Chinese sea. But above all to enable it to operate internationally in the near future, where it can intervene and seize power to protect its huge RBI investments when African states would be defaulting. It is the reason why it is building its 35 aircraft carriers to sail the seas.