{"id":1909150,"date":"2023-04-03T09:58:29","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T13:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steven-w-mosher-how-china-is-buying-the-world\/"},"modified":"2023-04-03T10:00:15","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T14:00:15","slug":"steven-w-mosher-how-china-is-buying-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steven-w-mosher-how-china-is-buying-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven W. Mosher: How China Is Buying the World"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsteven-w-mosher-how-china-is-buying-the-world%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1909150&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"single__content entry-content m-bottom\">\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--primary-tag\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading widget-heading widget-heading--sm\"> \t\t\t<span class=\"widget-heading__sub\">More On:<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/tag\/china\/\" data-ga-event=\"{\"category\":\"More On\",\"action\":\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/tag\/china\/\"}\"> \t\t\t\t\tchina\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"inline-module__content\">\n<ul class=\"inline-module__list\">\n<li class=\"story story--list\">\n<h3 class=\"story__headline headline headline--xxs\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/04\/03\/chinese-spy-balloon-gathered-intelligence-from-us-military-sites\/\" data-ga-event=\"{\"category\":\"More On\",\"action\":\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/04\/03\/chinese-spy-balloon-gathered-intelligence-from-us-military-sites\/\",\"label\":\"Slot 1\"}\" data-image-url=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/NYPICHPDPICT000009162323.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\tChinese spy balloon gathered intelligence from US military sites: report\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"story story--list\">\n<h3 class=\"story__headline headline headline--xxs\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/04\/02\/gop-party-of-the-working-class-and-other-commentary\/\" 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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tManchin slams Biden cut to electric car tax credits: \u2018Stop this now\u2019\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"story story--list\">\n<h3 class=\"story__headline headline headline--xxs\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/03\/31\/tiktok-hires-ex-obama-officials-ex-disney-exec-amid-ban-threat\/\" data-ga-event=\"{\"category\":\"More On\",\"action\":\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/03\/31\/tiktok-hires-ex-obama-officials-ex-disney-exec-amid-ban-threat\/\",\"label\":\"Slot 4\"}\" data-image-url=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/plouffe-messina-mucha-tiktok-comp.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\tTikTok hires ex-Obama officials, ex-Disney exec in trying to avoid US ban\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/a896a45e-bbc6-473d-8c87-4ae955253b41\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Last week, Ranil Wickremesinghe<\/a>, who became president of the island nation of Sri Lanka last summer, was finally able to succeed where his beleaguered predecessor had failed: An agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reschedule $3 billion in debt. <\/p>\n<p>The deal will provide Sri Lanka with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imf.org\/en\/News\/Articles\/2023\/03\/21\/tr032123-transcript-of-sri-lanka-press-briefing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">additional four years to satisfy<\/a> its IMF obligations, which are crippling the nation with inflation. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a good start, but the MIF deal does nothing to mitigate the country\u2019s real debt burden, the nearly $7.5 billion it owes to China.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve heard of<a href=\"https:\/\/jia.sipa.columbia.edu\/governance-without-government-somali-territories\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> \u201cfailed states\u201d like Somalia<\/a>, where the central government has basically ceased to exist.\u00a0 And then there are \u201cnarco states\u201d where the trafficking of drugs \u2014 and often people \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/worldview.stratfor.com\/article\/what-narco-state-and-why-does-it-matter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is the chief function of the criminal gangs that run the country.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But have you heard of Sino states? <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000008846881-1.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26388048\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>Vice President Kamala Harris African tour was intended to shore up US support in Africa amid widespread Chinese influence within the continent. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Located from the South Pacific to South America, Sino states are countries whose ports, railroads, resources \u2013 and even governments and economies \u2013 are deep in China\u2019s pockets. <\/p>\n<p>And as Beijing further extends its military and economic reach, Sino states are multiplying. \u201cChina is on the march globally, bending dozens of countries to its will,\u201d observes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Australias-Defence-David-Archibald\/dp\/1925138844?tag=nypost-20&#038;asc_refurl=https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/04\/01\/china-is-buying-the-world\/&#038;asc_source=web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" ecommerce>Australian defense analyst David Archibald<\/a>, \u201cand this includes here in the South Pacific, where [China] is eyeing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-china-solomonislands\/chinese-land-deal-in-solomons-guadalcanal-disrupts-access-to-wwii-site-idUSKBN1XM0OC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">World War II Japanese base on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.\u201d<\/a> (Spoiler alert: Last year China<a href=\"https:\/\/www.capacitymedia.com\/article\/2aiwcb4jaw6kp0i2145xc\/news\/china-dismisses-debt-trap-narrative-after-66m-solomon-islands-investment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> lent the Solomon Islands $66 million to upgrade <\/a>their telecommunications infrastructure.)<\/p>\n<p>Sri Lanka is a prime example of a Sino-state<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedialogue.org\/analysis\/on-the-ecuador-china-debt-deal-qa-with-augusto-de-la-torre\/#:~:text=As%20first%20reported%20by%20The,relief%20to%20Ecuador%20through%202025.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">, and <\/a>so is Ecuador \u2013 which currently owes<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedialogue.org\/analysis\/on-the-ecuador-china-debt-deal-qa-with-augusto-de-la-torre\/#:~:text=As%20first%20reported%20by%20The,relief%20to%20Ecuador%20through%202025.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> China nearly $4.5 billion in unpaid loans<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>This sum includes billions to the Chinese construction company Sinohydro, responsible for Ecuador\u2019s dismally faulty \u2013 and corruption-laden \u2013 Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant. <\/p>\n<p>The $2.7 billion infrastructure giant \u2013 one of four built by China across Ecuador \u2013 is not only riddled with thousands of cracks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/china-global-mega-projects-infrastructure-falling-apart-11674166180\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">but is at risk of systemwide failure<\/a>, according to local engineers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000009026247.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26387969\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>Honduras is the latest country to fall under the sway of China.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Countries such as Sri Lanka and Ecuador arrived at \u201cSino-State\u201d-status because Beijing is buying up natural resources, building infrastructure, and bribing officials at a furious pace. <\/p>\n<p>Much of this effort is part of China\u2019s trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/backgrounder\/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one of the biggest construction efforts in human history<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Via mega-projects like BRI, China intends to outmaneuver and outcompete the West.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>And judging by Beijing\u2019s canny use of loan promises to convince Honduras to support China over longtime ally Taiwan last week, the PRC has no intention of playing fair anytime soon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The US is well aware of China\u2019s global march \u2013 so much so that Vice President Kamala Harris was dispatched to Africa this past week specifically in order to counter Beijing\u2019s ever-growing influence across the continent. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Stops on Harris\u2019 nine-day trip include Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia, all of which are heavily indebted to China and are at risk of becoming the Sino States.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000008853708.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26387984\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>China oversaw the financing and construction of the Coca-Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant in Ecuador.  <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Xinhua\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Here are several other nations poised to become Sino States in the making.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><em>Sri Lanka:<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In 2002, Chinese officials came waltzing into Sri Lanka with grand plans to build an international port, offering $1.1 billion in loans and state-owned contractors to build it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Called Hambantota, the port, along with power stations and an airport, was supposed to rejuvenate the island\u2019s economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000006188364.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26388018\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>Sri Lanka\u2019s President Ranil Wickremesinghe (L) sits with his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa.  <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It was obvious why China was interested in Sri Lanka.\u00a0 Not only does it sit smack dab on the sea lanes that bring oil from the Middle East to China, but it\u2019s also not far off the east coast of China\u2019s most important Asian adversary \u2014 India.<\/p>\n<p>For reasons unknown to anyone except, perhaps, their bankers, Sri Lankan leaders signed on to Hambantota.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>No one bothered to determine if such a port would be commercially viable, or even generate sufficient revenue to pay back the loan.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000008853102.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26388028\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>The port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka is one of the highest-profile Chinese-built projects in the island nation. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Everyone was happy until the loan came due, and the Colombo government belatedly realized that it could not afford to make it good.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>In 2017, Sri Lanka was forced to hand over the port to Chinese control on a 99-year lease.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the years since, the country has continued to pile up debt, its population plunged into hunger, and politicians forced to beg both Beijing and the IMF for debt relief.<\/p>\n<p>This is China\u2019s debt-trap diplomacy in action, and it has put Sri Lanka straight on a path toward Sino state-status.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>A Chinese Navy vessel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/chinese-military-survey-ship-docks-sri-lanka-port-2022-08-16\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has recently made a port call<\/a>, which was clearly part of Beijing\u2019s plan from the beginning.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><em>Pakistan:\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>China has been luring Pakistan down the road towards Sino State-hood since the days of Mao.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Beijing even handed over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/asia\/report\/the-strategic-implications-chinas-nuclear-aid-pakistan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a nuclear weapons kit<\/a> to Islamabad in the 1980s, in the most flagrant violation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/national-security\/3621641-china-a-nuclear-nonproliferation-deadbeat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nuclear nonproliferation agreement<\/a> in history.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000008853490.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26388009\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>Pakistan is a major juncture along China\u2019s trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But the effort <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/03\/23\/xis-meeting-with-putin-letters-to-the-editor-march-24-2023\/\">has picked up steam since Xi Jinping<\/a> announced the BRI in 2013.\u00a0 In fact, the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which connects China to Pakistan\u2019s Indian Ocean port of Gwadar, is the crown jewel of all the Belt and Road projects.<\/p>\n<p>China promised Pakistan that its participation in BRI would transform its \u201call-weather ally\u201d into a prosperous regional trade hub. Instead, it has left perennially bankrupt Pakistan even deeper in debt \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/us-concerned-about-debt-pakistan-owes-china-official-says-2023-02-16\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">estimated in excess of $30 billion to Chinese lenders. <\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The US is not pleased: \u201cWe have been very clear about our concerns not just here in Pakistan, but elsewhere all around the world about . . . debt owed to China,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/us-concerned-about-debt-pakistan-owes-china-official-says-2023-02-16\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet<\/a> during a visit to Islamabad in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000008853596.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26388006\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>The Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in northern Pakistan was seen under construction in 2016. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To make matters worse, analysts <a href=\"https:\/\/merics.org\/en\/analysis\/bri-pakistan-chinas-flagship-economic-corridor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> that \u201cChinese companies have often obtained long-term contractual rights to operate road and energy infrastructure and to collect electricity or toll fees at guaranteed high prices.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In other words, not only is Pakistan on the hook for the original loan, but ordinary Pakistanis are paying a premium to use the roads and power that their taxes have already funded.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With Sri Lanka to the east, and Pakistan to the West, China is adding layers of strategic depth to its encirclement of India.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Equally importantly, Beijing gains a land route to the Indian Ocean, enabling it to bypass the risky passage through the Malacca Strait into the South China Sea in the event of a conflict.<\/p>\n<p>And, who knows, Chinese Navy ships may soon be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/hisutton\/2020\/06\/02\/chinas-new-high-security-compound-in-pakistan-may-indicate-naval-plans\/?sh=152996821020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">making port calls<\/a> in Gwadar.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong><em>Djibouti:<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Low-key Djibouti is another link in China\u2019s growing chain of Sino states. <\/p>\n<p>The tiny country in the Horn of Africa has no natural resources.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>But, sitting as it does at the entrance to the Red Sea, it does offer one great natural advantage:\u00a0 Whoever controls Djibouti controls access to the Suez Canal, through which roughly half the world\u2019s trade passes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000008853786.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26387987\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>A Chinese-controlled port facility is seen here in Djibouti in East Africa. <br \/><\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Corbis via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Eager to command this strategic chokepoint, China has moved into Djibouti in a big way.\u00a0 Scarcely had the BRI been announced in 2013 than Chinese construction crews were busy constructing a major port in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But China also wanted control over an existing container terminal as well.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>So in early 2018 Djibouti officials <a href=\"https:\/\/gulfbusiness.com\/djibouti-ends-container-terminal-contract-dubais-dp-world\/\">kicked out the previous terminal operator<\/a> and brought in a state-controlled firm from China.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Barely five years later, Djibouti is now home to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/china-builds-first-overseas-military-outpost-1471622690\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China\u2019s first overseas military base<\/a> \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/theprint.in\/world\/djibouti-struggles-to-repay-chinese-loan-suspends-debt-repayments\/1261610\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">along with roughly $1.5 billion in Chinese debt. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>The PLA presence is sizable and growing, and Chinese warships are now making regular port calls.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000008853674.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26387992\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>A military base, China\u2019s first outside of its own borders, in the tiny African nation of Djibouti.  <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Critics say that what China has done in Djibouti signals what it eventually would like to do with all the ports, railroads, airports and other infrastructure it has built around the world in recent years.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cChina is building up the global port and airfield infrastructure \u2013 along with the political influence \u2013 that will eventually give the PLA access to facilities throughout the world and allow a global military presence,\u201d says Col. Grant Newsham, the author of \u201cWhen China Attacks.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust like America has,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><em>Cuba:<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The island of Cuba did not start out as a Sino state \u2014 for three decades it was a Soviet client state \u2014 but it seems to have ended up as one.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>The collapse of the Soviet Union sent Castro scurrying to Beijing in search of another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/china-tells-us-enough-sanctions-pledges-support-cuba-1616382\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Communist Big Brother<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>China was happy to have a foothold 90 miles away from Florida and quickly moved in to <a href=\"https:\/\/thediplomat.com\/2018\/06\/satellite-images-a-worrying-cuban-mystery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">construct an electronic eavesdropping station<\/a> on the island to spy on the US. <\/p>\n<p>Trade was ramped up as well, and China is now Cuba\u2019s second-largest trading partner after Venezuela.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>In 2018, Chinese construction companies completed their biggest project yet with their Caribbean partner: A modern container port in Santiago, Cuba.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000008854160.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26387974\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>In Cuba, China has completed a sizable shipping container port as well as this sophisticated intelligence-gathering facility.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But the greatest benefit that Cuba has received from its Sino-State status is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/latin-america\/2021\/08\/05\/reports-cubas-internet-shutdown-fueled-by-chinese-big-tech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">modern telecommunications system<\/a>.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/thediplomat.com\/2021\/08\/how-china-helps-the-cuban-regime-stay-afloat-and-shut-down-protests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Manufactured by Huawei<\/a>, this allows the Cuban secret police \u2014 and probably Chinese intelligence as well \u2014 to directly monitor all communications in real-time, censoring, blocking, and locking out people as necessary.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s exactly what Havana did when island-wide demonstrations for freedom broke out last year.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>As hundreds of thousands began to take to the streets, and the world began to take notice, the authorities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/americas_cuban-authorities-block-access-internet-response-protests\/6208178.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">simply shut down the entire network<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>In the digital darkness that followed, the demonstrations were crushed.<\/p>\n<p>One benefit of being a Sino-state is that the CCP will help you hold onto power.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Nothing works better than a Chinese-manufactured totalitarian kill switches to silence a popular uprising.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000008852778.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26388054\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>Australian defense analyst David Archibald says China has its eyes set on peddling influence across the entire planet, including in the South Pacific nation of the Solomon Islands. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong><em>Angola:<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>China\u2019s first big Sino-state play in Africa was in Angola, which in 2002 was just emerging from a disastrous 27-year civil war. <\/p>\n<p>The country offered no geostrategic advantage for China, but it did have massive oil reserves.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>We will rebuild your aging infrastructure, Beijing said, if you commit to selling us the oil at a discount. <\/p>\n<p>Some 20 years later, Angola has borrowed $40 billion from Beijing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-angola-economy\/angola-gets-breathing-space-from-chinese-creditors-says-finance-minister-idUSKBN29G18X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">and still must pay back roughly half of it.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The winners of Angola\u2019s civil war had first turned to the West for funding to rebuild their devastated country.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>But they accepted China\u2019s offer after Western aid agencies asked them to allow freedom of the press and commit to free elections.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/NYPICHPDPICT000008853883.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26387982\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>The massive Chinese-built Nova Cidade de Kilamba outside of Luanda in Angola. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Xinhua\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>China \u2014 the best friend of dictators everywhere \u2014 set no such conditions.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>And over the subsequent two decades, hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers have sojourned in Angola, building up not only the oil infrastructure, but roads, bridges, ports, and housing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Like in Ecuador, much of what China has constructed is faulty, if not inoperable. <\/p>\n<p>The massive Chinese-built Nova Cidade de Kilamba, for instance, was envisioned as a futuristic, modern-design \u201csatellite town\u201d spread across 5,000 acres 18 miles from the Angolan capital of Luanda. <\/p>\n<p>Thousands of residents were expected to move in, but today <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-africa-18646243\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the place is a ghost town<\/a>, with few homes occupied \u2013 and many crack-ridden and falling apart.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/china-xi-jinping.jpg\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"26387960\"> \t<svg class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/button> <\/a><figcaption>Chinese leader Xi Jinping, recently elected to another five-year term as president, continues to make political and military footprints around the world.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sino State citizens not only have to live with these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/china-global-mega-projects-infrastructure-falling-apart-11674166180\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">often poorly constructed projects<\/a> but back China for building them in the first place.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>And if they can\u2019t \u2013 whether in Africa or Asia or South America \u2013 the port, railroad, or power plant defaults to Chinese control.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"comments-inline-cta\" data-comment-count=\"\" data-prompt=\"What do you think?\">\n<div><button type=\"button\" class=\"social-icons__icon social-icons__icon--comments social-icons__icon--comments--has-count social-icons__icon--comments--inline\" aria-label=\"Post a comment.\"><span class=\"social-icons__icon--comments__count\">107<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"comments-inline-cta__wrap\">What do you think?\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bonginoreport.com\/#spotim-specific\" class=\"comments-inline-cta__button-link\">Post a comment.<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Worst of all, under Chinese influence, their country becomes steadily more dictatorial \u2014 just like the original Sino state itself \u2014 the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/p>\n<p><em>Steven W. Mosher is the president of the Population Research Institute and the author of \u201cBully of Asia: Why China\u2019s Dream is the New Threat to World Order.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"wpcom-liveblog-container\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More On: china Chinese spy balloon gathered intelligence from US military sites: report GOP = party of the working class, 34 counts means a weak case and other commentary Manchin slams Biden cut to electric car tax credits: \u2018Stop this now\u2019 TikTok hires ex-Obama officials, ex-Disney exec in trying to avoid US ban Last week<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1909151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[12956,4501,7846,4579],"class_list":["post-1909150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-buying","tag-china","tag-mosher","tag-steven"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1909150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1909150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1909150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1909151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1909150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1909150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1909150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}