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| Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka. Now owned by China |
In our 2011 African jaunt from Cape Town to Cairo, we came across many Chinese projects. Some the people liked, some they resented.
Xi Jinping was not yet president, so they were just bilateral initiatives, though I guess by now they've become absorbed into Xi’s signature “Belt and Road Initiative” The BRI swallows all, Xi’s very own Blob. Or, from the review of the book above: “Belt and Road” has become a brand name to be attached to just about anything.No doubt some of the projects are terrific. We drove along a brand new highway in Sudan, up the mountains and along the Nile. A fabulous day's driving. Built by the Chinese. And you can see so clearly in Africa: where roads go, there too goes development. And where roads don't go, there's no development. And the people do like development, whatever ante-diluvian greenies may say.
But no doubt some are deeply resented. As in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port, above, in Malaysia and Pakistan, "debt trap" infrastructure projects — where the country gets so deep in debt for the project the Chinese take it over, in massive debt-for-equity swaps.
Conclusion:
…as Hillman makes clear, to many of them the belt now appears to be a noose, and the road a road to nowhere.
This book sounds like a good take on the subject, by Jonathan Hillman.
No mere desk-bound theoretician, he provides personal accounts of visits to key projects across Africa and Asia, struggles with bureaucracy and mutual suspicion at China’s borders, bringing all their logistics to life. Contrary to the dreary enthusiasm of official accounts, he sees ports without ships, trains without passengers, airports without flights, and free trade zones largely free of trade.
