{"id":2025347,"date":"2023-09-08T00:19:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T04:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-lankford-wants-all-us-embassies-to-track-and-counter-chinas-predatory-lending-programs\/"},"modified":"2023-09-08T00:23:26","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T04:23:26","slug":"sen-lankford-wants-all-us-embassies-to-track-and-counter-chinas-predatory-lending-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-lankford-wants-all-us-embassies-to-track-and-counter-chinas-predatory-lending-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Lankford urges US embassies to monitor and combat China&#8217;s exploitative loans."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/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%2Fsen-lankford-wants-all-us-embassies-to-track-and-counter-chinas-predatory-lending-programs%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=2025347&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 data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>All\u2064 overseas U.S. embassies would be \u2063required to designate at least one employee for\u200c tracking activities associated with communist China&#8217;s predatory $1.2\u200b trillion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in their local countries under legislation introduced \u200din Congress by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCommunist China is using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-hackers-breached-afghan-telecom-company-as-us-withdrew\/\" title=\"Chinese Hackers Breached Afghan Telecom Company As US Withdrew\">debt-trap diplomacy<\/a> to erode the\u200b sovereignty of debtor \u200dnations and challenge \u200bAmerican leadership \u200cin critical regions around the world. The United States \u2062cannot ignore how China destabilizes developing countries to advance the Chinese Communist Party&#8217;s [CCP] military ambitions and malign agenda. The U.S. should \u2062counter China\u2019s \u2062predatory lending and promote freedom \u2062to people living under China\u2019s exploitation,\u201d <strong>Mr. Lankford<\/strong> told\u2064 <strong>The Epoch Times<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>A fact sheet describing <strong>Mr. Lankford&#8217;s legislation<\/strong> and made\u200d available to journalists by his office said\u200b the bill &#8220;will strengthen U.S. capacity to track, counter, and \u2063compete with the PRC\u2019s [People&#8217;s Republic of China] predatory economic tactics in localized diplomatic contexts. &#8230; The United States must lead the way \u2064in countering China\u2019s predations and ensure our diplomats are equipped to address this issue at all of our diplomatic posts in each unique country context.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/italy-may-leave-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-dealing-major-blow-5485684\">Italy May Exit China&#8217;s Belt and Road Initiative, Dealing Major \u200bBlow<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/3\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/italy-may-leave-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-dealing-major-blow-5485684\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/convoy-of-chinese-engineers-attacked-at-pakistan-hub-of-ccps-belt-and-road-initiative-5463337\">Convoy of Chinese Engineers\u200b Attacked at Pakistan Hub of CCP&#8217;s Belt \u200cand Road Initiative<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/15\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/convoy-of-chinese-engineers-attacked-at-pakistan-hub-of-ccps-belt-and-road-initiative-5463337\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Under the Lankford bill, \u2062the dedicated embassy \u2063official would \u2064&#8221;prepare a report \u200cidentifying and assessing all BRI-related projects \u2064in their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hayward-joe-bidens-virtual-summit-for-democracy-a-train-wreck\/\" title=\"Hayward: Joe Biden\u2019s Virtual \u2018Summit for Democracy\u2019 a Train Wreck\">respective country<\/a> contexts, along with a comprehensive report from the \u2064Department of State\u200d with all relevant information compiled.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the dedicated U.S. \u2064embassy official would \u2063be tasked with \u200ddeveloping &#8220;a strategy to counter PRC influence in their respective country\u200c contexts, and directs all Chiefs of Mission to implement and train all in-country personnel in the key tenets of\u200c the local strategy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The bill further \u2062requires &#8220;an assessment\u200c of projects that have caused the country to incur significant debt that has the potential to\u2062 harm its economic prosperity and national sovereignty&#8221; and &#8220;a list of the known or speculated \u2063collateral listed by \u2064the respective country for the debts incurred by Belt and\u2062 Road Initiative projects.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Another component of the official&#8217;s job description requires \u2063that he or she &#8220;encourages the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation \u200bto <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-lankford-wants-all-us-embassies-to-track-and-counter-chinas-predatory-lending-programs\/\" title=\"Sen. Lankford urges US embassies to monitor and combat China's exploitative loans.\">prioritize alternative financing opportunities<\/a> for countries who are\u200c targets of the Belt &#038; Road Initiative,&#8221; thus \u2062creating, in effect, a competitive lending scenario.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department was consulted as the Lankford proposal was developed. The proposal requires that an existing \u200cemployee be designated for BRI monitoring rather than\u2063 creating a\u2063 new position for\u200d that purpose in the U.S. Foreign Service.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>Security guards walk past a billboard for the Belt and \u200dRoad Forum for International \u200dCooperation at the forum&#8217;s venue in Beijing on May 13, 2017. (Wang Zhao\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>Belt and Road Initiative<\/h2>\n<p>The BRI was\u2062 announced in 2013 \u2064by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who described it then as a new \u200b&#8221;Silk Road Economic Belt,&#8221; recalling the fabled &#8220;Silk Road&#8221; that connected China to Central Asia \u2064and parts of the Middle East from the \u2063second century\u200c A.D. through the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But whereas the old Silk Road represented a trade route that saw goods and ideas going back and forth, Mr. Xi&#8217;s new BRI is a tool of the CCP to expand that nation&#8217;s economic, military, and\u200c political influence and \u2063control far beyond its borders and in competition with the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Chinese officials offer \u2063substantial loans, often for costly infrastructure construction projects \u200bin less prosperous \u200dCentral Asian,\u200b Middle Eastern, and African nations. However, once the BRI gets established in the recipient nation, the loans become a leverage point for the subsequent expansion of CCP influence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">But \u2063the BRI program has not been without problems for Beijing, as <strong>The Epoch Times<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/the-belt-and-road-initiative-hits-a-pothole-5215915\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> earlier \u2064this year. About $78.5 billion of \u2063loans from Chinese institutions to roads, railways,\u2063 ports,\u200d <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>the global order. To counter this, Sen. Lankford proposes that U.S. embassies worldwide assign a staff member to monitor China&#8217;s BRI activities. This legislation aims to protect debtor nations from falling into China&#8217;s debt trap and safeguard global sovereignty against China&#8217;s aggressive tactics.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":2025348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"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\/2025347","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\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2025347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2025347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2025347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2025347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}