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Honestly, I’m not surprised considering China has invested a lot into exploiting African resources. China saw a huge market most of the west was ignoring and like we exploited China, China will do the same to Africa.
We exploit Africa. China has begun to take up Western marketshare in Africa because they're less exploitative and offer a better deal.
I don’t know about them being less exploitative, but I’m sure they’re offering a better deal to steal the market share.
Compared to historical treatment of africa, no argument china is far better. Compared to modern treatment, nah they're just the same as the rest of us bastards.
A comforting lie.
The IMF loots countries that take loans and in contrast China forgives loans. The reason Africa is aligning more with China is because they're getting a better deal. If they really were just the same as the West then China wouldn't be winning the continent.
Part of the reason also has to do with the fact that China will write loans for stupid crap when Western banks and the IMF won't. You want a loan to build a giant statue in the middle of the desert? Chinese banks have got you covered. Western banks will laugh you out the door. Loan to build a new train line? Western banks want assessments, revenue estimates, feasibility studies, and ten other things. Chinese banks will ask "Are you going to hire a Chinese contractor to build it?" and if the answer is yes, they'll write the loan.
This isn't as absurd as it looks.
If we assume the loans will implode either way, the Chinese model at least funnels some of the money back to their own contractors, and ends with some goodwill and infrastructure. It's an aid programme with extra steps.
I wonder if the western model optimizes for loans doomed to fail to use them as a lever to extract structural and political concessions, or if it's just a happy accident.
Western banks are privately held so they are only interested in profit. Western governments rarely give big loans to developing countries (except indirectly through institutions like the IMF), but China does, through its state-owned banks.
In many cases, Western banks gamble on junk loans unlikely to be repaid written to these countries and cry to their governments when they lose. Then these governments then pressure the debtor countries to try and extract payment.
I notice that Western nations like to keep these loans separate from aid. If the goal is to make money, it's called a loan, and if the goal is to help out, it's called foreign aid. China realised there's no particular reason to do this and mixes them freely so it has the flexibility to treat it as a loan that needs to be repaid when that suits them or treat it as aid that will be forgiven.
Both are forms of economic colonialism in my book. Just slightly different modus operandi.
Like how the kid who gets abused by his parents becomes a schoolyard bully. The cycle of exploitation and abuse continues
Chinese phones are generally pretty good and cost a lot less so it's not surprising at all.
Belt and roaded
Its success has been attributed to superior marketing and understanding consumer needs, such as making dual SIM card phones and camera phones better calibrated for darker skin tones
Wait, does camera apps still have problem with darker skin tones?
Shot in the dark, prolly makes people look too dark. I offer vacation photos on the phones of the guests I give tours to, and a lot of the phone cameras I've used tend to make dark skinned folks too dark.
I used One Plus in the past. It was better than the iPhone my employer gave me.
this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2024
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