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China Is Buying Global Influence on the Cheap

Rogue Valley

Rogue Valley

Lead or get out of the way
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China Is Buying Global Influence on the Cheap

The U.S. gives more money than China to many international organizations. So why do they seem more sympathetic to Beijing?

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5/6/20
This spring, President Donald Trump declared that he would halt U.S. funding for the World Health Organization, previously more than $400 million annually—and he announced this right in the midst of a global pandemic. A week later, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged another $30 million—which would nowhere near make up for the shortfall (not to mention that China still owes the organization $60 million in membership dues, an amount the WHO expects to get later this year). But the moment was a clear case in point for China’s success at checkbook diplomacy, in which the amount matters less than the message: You can’t count on the U.S., but you can count on us. “The Chinese give as little money as they can get away with,” Rear Admiral Kenneth Bernard, who previously served as a political adviser to the director-general of the World Health Organization, and as a special assistant for biodefense to President George W. Bush, told me. “They give as little money as will buy influence.” The WHO isn’t the only example. Last year, the United States gave more than $670 million to the United Nations’ operating budget, while China gave almost $370 million—yet Chinese nationals currently head four of the body’s 15 specialized agencies.“This isn’t about being fair,” he added. “This is about winning.”
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For every nation and organization that the Trump administration attacks or leaves high and dry financially, China is there with bundles of money, smiles and handshakes.

Related: Amid Pandemic, China Is Working to Lead the World Trump Abandoned
 
Rogue Valley said:
China Is Buying Global Influence on the Cheap

The U.S. gives more money than China to many international organizations. So why do they seem more sympathetic to Beijing?

defense-large.jpg




For every nation and organization that the Trump administration attacks or leaves high and dry financially, China is there with bundles of money, smiles and handshakes.

Related: Amid Pandemic, China Is Working to Lead the World Trump Abandoned
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Those who prefer to buy loyalty and support will expect a great return on their investment. When that return isn't forthcoming, the money goes away.

The US has been there...done that. Now it's China's turn to spend a lot of money for very little return.
 
Mycroft said:
Those who prefer to buy loyalty and support will expect a great return on their investment. When that return isn't forthcoming, the money goes away.

The US has been there...done that. Now it's China's turn to spend a lot of money for very little return.
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You underestimate the power of influence at your country's peril.
 
lwf said:
You underestimate the power of influence at your country's peril.
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The "power of influence" won't overcome the "power of economic and military might".
 
Mycroft said:
The "power of influence" won't overcome the "power of economic and military might".
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Ah to see the inner workings of the mind of a Trump supporter. Diplomacy, cooperation with other nations, influence and soft power are all totally irrelevant, we can push our agenda with the military!

Trump has made it clear to our allies and enemies alike that we're untrustworthy, don't honor our agreements, and aren't interested in global leadership, and you think that will have no negative consequences for our agenda. Ridiculous.
 
Don't really care if China is buying influence or not. I would far rather we did less of that regardless
 
Rogue Valley said:
China Is Buying Global Influence on the Cheap

The U.S. gives more money than China to many international organizations. So why do they seem more sympathetic to Beijing?

defense-large.jpg




For every nation and organization that the Trump administration attacks or leaves high and dry financially, China is there with bundles of money, smiles and handshakes.

Related: Amid Pandemic, China Is Working to Lead the World Trump Abandoned
Click to expand...

And guess what? Many other nations are not interested in Chinese largesse and are alarmed by the loss of sovereignty that accompanies it in your economy sours.

They can only do what you let them. In California, I saw Chinese senior centers built with contract Chinese labor. So much for democrats protecting union labor. San Francisco Bay Bridge? California partnered with China. Now it is an open question of whether it will fail due to rust and corrosion caused by shortcuts.

There is more to influence than money.
 
chuckiechan said:
And guess what? Many other nations are not interested in Chinese largesse and are alarmed by the loss of sovereignty that accompanies it in your economy sours.

They can only do what you let them. In California, I saw Chinese senior centers built with contract Chinese labor. So much for democrats protecting union labor. San Francisco Bay Bridge? California partnered with China. Now it is an open question of whether it will fail due to rust and corrosion caused by shortcuts.

There is more to influence than money.
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Yeah, it's called being the cheapest to bid on jobs.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
Ah to see the inner workings of the mind of a Trump supporter. Diplomacy, cooperation with other nations, influence and soft power are all totally irrelevant, we can push our agenda with the military!
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I'm thinking "Diplomacy, cooperation with other nations, influence and soft power" are all more effective when backed up by the "power of economic and military might". And, frankly, the "military might" only needs to be a last resort.

Trump has made it clear to our allies and enemies alike that we're untrustworthy, don't honor our agreements, and aren't interested in global leadership, and you think that will have no negative consequences for our agenda. Ridiculous.
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1. Your "untrustworthy" is nonsense. Dismissed.

2. Your "don't honor our agreements" is nonsense. Dismissed.

3. There is some truth to not being interested in global leadership. Who says we should be the leader of the globe? Who says we should be the world boss?

Which brings us to...

4. "our agenda". I guess that depends what our agenda means, say...to you. Trump's agenda is national security. His primary tool is economic security. That means relations with other countries based on fair, balanced and reciprocal trade agreements and by the US maintaining our military might. What's your agenda?
 
Mycroft said:
The "power of influence" won't overcome the "power of economic and military might".
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Oh yes it does. All the time. History is built on alliances. United we stand, divided we fall.
 
Trump is unhappy with China's actions to change the law in Hong Kong, a White house spokeswoman said.
I wonder if China is happy with the Texas law, for example?
 
Britain does not give back gold to Venezuela because it considers Maduro an "illegitimate" president of that country.
How soon will the US declare the Communist party of China an illegitimate ruling force in China? At the same time, they will promise to give their national debt to some сhinese Guaido?
This is how precedents are created. Who can guarantee that this scenario is excluded?
Investors should think about it.
 
The court in Canada will continue to consider the case on the extradition to the United States of Huawei's findirektor Meng Wanzhou. The lawyers failed to stop this process.
It's time for all canadians run like hell from China. Without looking back and as soon as possible.
 
Mycroft said:
I'm thinking "Diplomacy, cooperation with other nations, influence and soft power" are all more effective when backed up by the "power of economic and military might". And, frankly, the "military might" only needs to be a last resort.



1. Your "untrustworthy" is nonsense. Dismissed.

2. Your "don't honor our agreements" is nonsense. Dismissed.

3. There is some truth to not being interested in global leadership. Who says we should be the leader of the globe? Who says we should be the world boss?

Which brings us to...

4. "our agenda". I guess that depends what our agenda means, say...to you. Trump's agenda is national security. His primary tool is economic security. That means relations with other countries based on fair, balanced and reciprocal trade agreements and by the US maintaining our military might. What's your agenda?
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I would post a reply except you'd dismiss it.

Or dismiss me and say to read your sig (all of which I block anyway).

Xi Jinping's One Belt One Road "New Silk Road" is still stuck in its ditch because no nation in Asia from India to Russia to Iran to Turkey wants to have a zillion Chinese move in to build their projects then stay and complete their takeover of the place. Moreover the elites of nations across Asia know the Beijing Belt and Road is a classic "debt trap" by which Beijing lends the money you know you can't pay back and thereby owns you and your country. These are the two major reasons the B&R goes nowhere after beginning in Xi's classic Chinese grandiose fantasies only that make him believe Chinese are smarter than a 5th grader.

Thailand has said no to a Belt and Road canal tearing through it at its isthmus of Kra just north of Malaysia where Malays are wringing their hands as it is. India said no emphatically and the Russians who have a swarm of Chinese headaches in their Far East already absolutely don't want an influx of Chinese west of the Urals. Iran's not about to turn its northern third over to the Chinese with the rest of it to go later. Beijing's BFF Pakistan is the only one so far yet they stopped the initial phases to toss the mass of Chinese out and take it over to do themselves.

OBOR looks more each day like the Brics that fell and shattered long ago with their paltry development bank, Parker Bros. new currency and corrupt tyrant leaders. Trump meanwhile has said no to Beijing's begging to renegotiate the Phase One Trade Agreement and he's now looking ahead to making Beijing an offer it can't refuse on a Phase Two.
 
Tangmo said:
~This first part has nothing to do with the comment you are responding to, so yeah...dismissed~

Trump meanwhile has said no to Beijing's begging to renegotiate the Phase One Trade Agreement and he's now looking ahead to making Beijing an offer it can't refuse on a Phase Two.
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Yes, and he's put the US in a position of power and can easily do this.

China is at his mercy.
 
Mycroft said:
Yes, and he's put the US in a position of power and can easily do this.

China is at his mercy.
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USA has always been in a position of advantage over isolationist China for the past 400 years. The US was among the Great Powers of Europe and Japan that in the 19th century carved up China into their overseas domains although the US remained largely apart from the colonialist instincts and doctrines of the European Powers -- the Chinese remember this favorably to the present btw.

China was a nothing the first half of the 20th century as the two world wars shat on China while Gen. Chenault and his Flying Tigers provided desperate aid to China after which the USA defeated China's occupier and hated nemesis the Showa Japan that had had the Meiji Restoration and industrialization post US civil war while China snoozed in its usual moribund stagnation. Mao's 30 years in power kept China down and out without letup.

Trump's fat arse sits on the shoulders of the generations of Americans who preceded him vis a vis China while Trump's primary motivation to freeze the CCP-PRC is his racist hate of the Chinese. Trump and his principal China guy Peter Navarro the ideologue mean to set the CCP-PRC back 20 years and they're well positioned to do it given their anti China attitudes and their inheritance as Americans in power and authority. Chinese know they go nowhere without the United States playing along so if it takes a Donald Trump to run the timeclock back against CCP China then who am I to complain.

Beijing's good times at the expense of the USA are over no matter who the next Potus is as virtually all of the China experts and policy makers of the Democratic Party threw in the towel on CCP during Obama's second term. The vast number of Chinese private capitalists have fled CCP with their wealth and their families -- gone West -- while the political liberalism that capitalism was supposed to bring to blossom in CCP-PRC hit a great wall, shattered and crashed. What's clear now is that CCP-PRC is our strategic antagonist so it is being treated as such while each side attempts a detente of sorts and a peaceful coexistence that is reminiscent of the Cold War while not being another cold war given each side wants at least some things to cooperate on to look reasonable.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
Ah to see the inner workings of the mind of a Trump supporter. Diplomacy, cooperation with other nations, influence and soft power are all totally irrelevant, we can push our agenda with the military!

Trump has made it clear to our allies and enemies alike that we're untrustworthy, don't honor our agreements, and aren't interested in global leadership, and you think that will have no negative consequences for our agenda. Ridiculous.
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All of this is true but at the same time I don’t think Canada or Europe are running to China as their saviour and protector. And other countries in Asia are or will become wary of the price China will extract for their support.

For western countries in particular, as much as Europe likes to preen moral superiority and act independent of the US, I don’t see any draw to China given their abysmal human rights record and general totalitarian and Orwellian tendencies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
9 private financial companies in China with total assets of 1 trillion yuan ($143 billion) were nationalized in 1 day.

Huaxia Life Insurance Co., Tianan Life Insurance Co., Tian An Property Insurance Co. and Yian Property Insurance Co
New Times Securities, Guosheng Securities and Guosheng Futures—and two trust firms, New China Trust Co. and New Times Trust Co.

Good.
 
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