More than 460,000 people have already been displaced to South Sudan as a result of the Sudanese conflict. Dec. 29, 2023. | Photo: X/@XHNews
The donation by China will be used to shelter the returnees and refugees at the transit sites and the final destinations.
On Thursday, the government of South Sudan said that trucks carrying humanitarian aid donated by China to support refugees and returnees displaced from Sudan have started to arrive in Juba, South Sudan’s capital.
Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Albino Akol Atak said six trucks carrying a total of 26,145 pieces of plastic sheets arrived in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, to support the returnees and refugees.
“This has been a generous donation by the government of China to the people of South Sudan and is a result of our engagement with the international community and donors for them to help the government and to support the efforts of the government in its responses to the influx of refugees and returnees that have come as a result of the conflict in Sudan,” Akol told reporters in Juba.
He said more than 460,000 people have already been displaced to South Sudan as a result of the Sudanese conflict and are in dire need of shelter, food, and medicines in the transit centers and their final destination.
Akol said the donation by China will be used to shelter the returnees and refugees at the transit sites and the final destinations.
He noted that there will be another support from the Chinese government for the displaced persons totaling 1.4 million U.S. dollars, which will be delivered before the end of January 2024.
Akol expressed gratitude for the generous contribution of the government of China, affirming the true friendship between South Sudan and China.
Farmers thresh hybrid rice in Kihanga, Bubanza Province, Burundi, on June 20. Chinese agricultural experts have set up a multidisciplinary research center in Bubanza where hybrid rice varieties have been cultivated. HAN XU/XINHUA
By EDITH MUTETHYA in Nairobi, Kenya | China Daily Global | Updated: 2023-12-18 09:36
Inclusion of six new members promises to reshape world economic and political order
The BRICS Summit held in South Africa this year will go down in history as a meeting at which a milestone was reached to shape the group’s direction.
During the summit in Johannesburg the BRICS group of emerging economies of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa extended an invitation to Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that are expected to officially join the group next month.
After the enlargement, experts say, the platform will increase the influence of the Global South, which has traditionally been neglected in terms of economic growth and policies.
Aly Khan, an investment banker in Kenya, said the recent developments in BRICS, such as greater cohesion, its expansion and growing local currency settlement, all point to a grouping that is flexing its muscle.
BRICS expansion is significant, he said, foreshadowing a potentially new financial architecture and an ambition to reform global governance.
Cavince Adhere, an expert on international relations with a focus on China-Africa relations, said BRICS expansion will make the bloc an important platform for international collaboration, especially among Global South countries.
The bloc, with a combined population of more than 3.2 billion, accounts for about 42 percent of the world’s population, a quarter of world GDP and 17 percent of world trade.
“That tells you how important it is,” Adhere said. “It’s now composed of the largest market in the world.”
The bloc also brings together resource-rich countries, he said.
The future of BRICS will depend on its ability to deliver on the aspirations of the members that have already joined and those that are keen to join, he said.
The BRICS Ambassador at large, Anil Sooklal, has stated that a further 20 countries, in addition to the recently proposed six new members invited earlier this year, have applied to join the BRICS group. When discussing South Africa’s current Presidency of the BRICS, he stated in late November that “Over 20 countries have formally applied to join BRICS, while the same number have expressed interest. This is affirmation that BRICS is playing an important role in championing emerging and developing economies. There are a large number of interested parties and these will be dealt with by the respective Foreign Ministers.”
At present, the BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, while Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are expected to join from the coming January 1st.
Argentina was also invited to join however with a recent change in the political regime is now expected to decline. The five current members of BRICS are responsible for 37% of all global trade.
The 20 New BRICS Candidate Countries
In terms of the 20 new candidates, what will be attractive to many is the fact that the BRICS does not insist upon formal trade negotiations and the permanent imposition of tariff reductions. Rather than a defined tariff reduction regime, the BRICS has a far looser approach. This removes political barriers that include insistence on market and political reforms, which is more of a Western approach, and also means that tariff reductions and trade development enhancements can be implemented on an as-need basis. These are fundamental points of interests to emerging economies who may otherwise struggle to compete with cheap imports. It also allows more autocratic regimes to participate without the need to introduce unwelcome reforms that may not be considered in their national interest. Most of the 20 applicants have not been publicly identified, however in my experienced opinion are likely to include the following.
Afghanistan
An outlier, but Afghanistan has significant resources and is a member of the BRI. Diplomatic changes are required, but China, India and Russia are all keen to see redevelopment in the country once political stability can be secured.
Algeria
In terms of market size, Algeria has the tenth largest proven natural gas reserves globally, is the world’s sixth-largest gas exporter, and has the world’s third-largest untapped shale gas resources.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh is one of the world’s top five fastest growing economies and is undergoing significant infrastructure and trade development reforms. It shares a 4,100 km border with India.
Bolivia
Asset-rich but relatively poor, Bolivia has the fastest GDP growth rate in Latin America.
Cuba
Cuba’s sanctions defiance has long made it a favorite of China and Russia when wanting to annoy the United States. It also has significant agreements with China and Russia, is a member of the BRI and has significant Caribbean and LatAm influence.
Ecuador
Ecuador is negotiating Free Trade Agreements with both China and the Eurasian Economic Union. It would make sense to substitute these with a looser BRICS arrangement.
Indonesia
One of Asia’s leading economies, Indonesia’s potential has again been raised to join BRICS. In July 2023, Jakarta accepted an invitation to participate in the 2023 BRICS summit.
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan’s economy is highly dependent on oil and related products. In addition to oil, its main export commodities include natural gas, ferrous metals, copper, aluminum, zinc and uranium.
Mongolia
Mongolia is both a problem and solution, while geographically attractive. It requires extensive investment in its energy sector; yet is resource-rich and a transit point between Russia, Kazakhstan and China. It is not a member of any trade bloc, with a looser BRICS arrangement better suited to maintaining its regional impartiality.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is a mining play and the leading gold-producing country in Central America. It has a Free Trade Agreement with the ALBA bloc, and is an influential player in the Caribbean.
Nigeria
Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar has announced that the country intends to become a member of the BRICS group of nations within the next two years. Nigeria has a GDP of US$448 billion, a population of 213 million and a GDP per capita of US$2,500. It has the world’s 9th largest gas reserves and significant oil reserves.
Pakistan
Pakistan has filed an application to join the BRICS group of nations in 2024 and is counting on Russia’s assistance during the membership process, the country’s newly appointed Ambassador to Russia Muhammad Khalid Jamali has stated.
Senegal
Senegal is a medium capacity gold mining and energy player, with reserves in gold, oil, and gas. The energy industry is at a growth stage as reserves have only recently been found. The energy-hungry BRICS nations will be keen to secure its supplies.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka isn’t keen on opening up its markets yet has significant economic problems. China is interested in port and Indian Ocean access while Russian tourism investments are increasing. A BRICS agreement would be loose enough to satisfy all concerns, while India will want to keep an eye on it.
Sudan
Sudan’s top five export markets are 100% BRICS – China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, and the UAE. Sudan also has regional clout. It is Africa’s third-largest country by area, and is a member of the League of Arab States (LAS). Should Sudan join the BRICS it would give the group complete control of the Red Sea supply routes.
Thailand
Thailand is one of ASEAN’s largest economies, via ASEAN it has additional Free Trade Agreements with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and India, and agreements with Chile, and Peru. Thailand is also a signatory to the RCEP FTA between ASEAN and Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Turkiye
Turkiye’s trade figures with the current and most of the upcoming BRICS members show significant growth. Getting access to BRICS NDB funding may also prove attractive for Ankara as talks are expected across a number of issues.
Uruguay
Uruguay has joined the BRICS New Development Bank – a sure sign that official BRICS membership is pending.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is one of Central Asia’s fastest growing economies, yet it is hampered by being double-landlocked. Membership of BRICS would give it market access to China, Europe, and the rest of Asia in a more protected manner.
Venezuela
Another outlier, but its energy reserves and political stance fit well with China and Russia’s needs.
Additional candidates are also likely to include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Chile, Peru, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Cameroon, DR Congo, Kenya and Tanzania among others.
Summary
At first glance this may appear a disparate and disjointed group with little in common. Yet this is part of the appeal. In the West, trade partner economies are typically viewed in terms of economic capability, and their immediate usefulness (or otherwise) to Western economies. Emerging economies that show promise are often ‘encouraged’ to embark on political and economic reforms to ‘bring them to international standards’. What has become apparent is that this tends to mean ‘Western benefits’ take precedence over these economies. That has included inadvisable World Bank loans, and the imposition of US dollar and Euro trade at the expense of their sovereign currencies.
In gathering together the ‘developing’ or ‘emerging’ economies, the BRICS have taken a bet on the future. While some potential members may fall into future difficulties created by regional conflicts, most will not. Absorbing these new members will take time – but could be completed by 2030.
Closer examination also reveals that many of the 20 listed above are significant economies, often amongst the leading players within their own respective trade blocs. These include the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), Latin America’s Mercosur, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and ASEAN, amongst others. Having BRICS members inserted into these regional blocs significantly enhances the BRICS own reach and influence within them. By comparison, the European Union appears strictly rigid in its approach. It resembles a closed market rather than an open one. In this way, the BRICS can be seen as an antidote to the previously over-regulated Western trade group systems, where trade negotiations are measured in decades and political conditions imposed in return for Western market access.
What is happening instead is far more revolutionary, and is leading to a rather more considered, and inclusive multi-lateral approach. The BRICS movement is developing more as a trade philosophy than a specific bloc – and will pave the way ahead in terms of global trade flows well into the coming decades.
Chris Devonshire-Ellis is the Chairman of Dezan Shira & Associates.
Actors from the Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center take the curtain call after the celebration performance of the 60th anniversary of China-Kenya diplomatic relations in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept 5, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
As Kenya and China celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, both countries count enormous benefits accrued over the decades.
To date, China is Kenya’s largest trading partner and biggest source market and is responsible for major infrastructure projects in the East African country.
Benedict Wachira, secretary-general of the Communist Party of Kenya, said the relationship has been growing stronger, especially since 2003, when then-president Mwai Kibaki shifted Kenya’s foreign policies toward the East as opposed to the traditional West.
The new focus saw Kenya regain the dignity it had lost to the West, Wachira said, in addition to getting support from China to construct modern infrastructure projects that have facilitated the country’s economic growth.
Unlike Western countries that tied their support to strict conditions such as human rights issues, democracy and political interference, the Chinese came and dealt with Kenyans as equals, not as subordinates, he (Benedict Wachira, secretary-general of the Communist Party of Kenya) said
“The relationship between China and Kenya is based on dignity, solidarity, and mutual respect, unlike its relationship with the United States and Europe, which is exploitative.”
Unlike Western countries that tied their support to strict conditions such as human rights issues, democracy and political interference, the Chinese came and dealt with Kenyans as equals, not as subordinates, he said.
“Western countries would demand that the government reduce funding to education, healthcare and agricultural extensions and increase funding to human rights, failure to which they would not build or finance a project,” he said, adding that China, on the other hand, focuses on the project, adhering to its policy of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs.
The Chinese infrastructure development work has drawn praise even in remote parts of the country, he said.
If government engineers asked villagers to select a contractor for a road project, with options including British, Indian, Chinese and Kenyan providers, even the oldest villager would recommend a Chinese contractor, he said.
This photo taken on May 8, 2022 shows a section of the Nairobi Expressway built by China Road and Bridge Corporation in Nairobi, Kenya. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Thika Superhighway, the first major project constructed by Chinese contractors in Kenya, is a testament to the quality of Chinese work. The road is in great condition, and has never been repaired, 10 years after it was inaugurated.
The 50-kilometer stretch links the capital Nairobi with the country’s second-most industrialized town of Thika, easing transportation of raw materials and finished products.
Wachira also underscored the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway, the biggest project undertaken by the country to date and one of the key projects under the Belt and Road Initiative in Kenya.
“Many times the trains are fully booked, meaning many people rely on the railway because it is safer, faster and affordable.”
China has constructed about 115 km of road bypasses in Nairobi, including the 27-km Nairobi Expressway, the 453-km Lamu-Garissa Road and 300 km of informal settlement roads in the city, the Africa Policy Institute said.
This aerial photo taken on Sept 20, 2023 shows a view of the Nairobi Terminus Station of the China-built Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Nairobi, Kenya. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
This is in addition to Kipevu Oil Terminal in Mombasa Port, Lamu Port, Liwatoni Floating Bridge and Thwake Dam, among others.
Affordable, quality goods
Besides infrastructure development, China has provided affordable and good-quality goods to Kenya, Wachira said.
“Traders across all Kenyan cities and towns trade in affordable, brand-new Chinese products. Previously, we used to import secondhand products from Europe and the US, which in terms of dignity was not a good thing.”
The deepening China-Kenya relationship has seen a significant increase in the number of Chinese tourists to Kenya, and China could surpass the traditional bases of Germany and the United Kingdom in the near future, he said.
China is Kenya’s sixth-biggest tourism source market and the second-biggest source market from Asia, according to Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife.
Chinese tourists pose for a photo at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb 11, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
If China had not helped Kenya, the latter would still be under the West’s control, Wachira said.
“The World Bank and the IMF(International Monetary Fund) would still be telling us what to do and what not to do, and we would not be truly an independent country in terms of economy,” he said.
As with many others, Wachira refuted the US’ smearing on China’s relationship with Kenya and other African countries.
“The US wants its own discomfort with China to be transferred and propagated by all others, including Kenya, but it has not been working,” he said.
On the Western criticism that China offers infrastructure projects without regard to how African countries would use them to develop their own self-sufficient economies, Wachira said the Chinese government does not impose project design or origination.
“The Chinese come and support our plan, so if there is a failure of any project it’s not the Chinese, it’s the government and the person who was in charge of the project development,” he said.
Cuba-China bilateral economic relations have hit an important milestone with the signing of a Cooperation Plan for the joint promotion of the Silk and Road Initiative. The document was signed on Friday, between the governments of Cuba and China, by Cuban Deputy Prime Minister, Ricardo Cabrisas, and President of National Development and Reform Commission, He Lifeng.
This Plan will allow for the effective implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding, signed by President Díaz-Canel during a visit to China in November 2018, which formalized the insertion of Cuba to this important Initiative. That MoU was prepared in correspondence with Cuba’s short, medium and long-term economic and social development objectives, where China participates as a strategic partner, and based on the experiences acquired by China in the implementation of projects and actions in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Cuban Deputy Prime Minister, Ricardo Cabrisas signs the Cooperation Plan for the joint promotion of the Silk and Road Initiative. December 24, 2021.
The Plan promotes bilateral cooperation in priority sectors for Cuba, such as infrastructure development, education, culture, health and biotechnology, communications, science and technology and tourism, among other areas. Projects and actions to be executed jointly will be of mutual benefit, in order to further strengthen and diversify the ties between Cuba and China, as well as with third countries that are members of this Initiative.
The Belt and Road megaproject has been promoted by the Chinese Government since 2013 aimed mainly at the creation of an extensive network of infrastructure that will contribute to the connectivity between its members, promote cultural exchange and strengthen international cooperation.
This week, Cuba and China held the XII Meeting of the Joint Commission for Cooperation in Science and Technology. On Thursday, President Miguel Diaz-Canel visited sites of investments in which Chinese companies are participating. “We will continue to support the business community of China, a nation to which we are united by deep and historical ties. In this Thursday’s tour of several joint investments, we verified the seriousness and rigor with which they work,” stated the Cuban President.
Meanwhile, Nicaragua and China have wasted no time in restoring relations following the Sandinista government’s major announcement to drop Taiwan and recognize only Beijing.
The new ties with China enable the Central American nation new prospects for trade and foreign direct investment. | Photo: Twitter/@KawsachunNews
Nicaragua could triple its exportable volume of traditional products to China in the next ten years if a large-scale investment project is established, said the president of the Nicaraguan Council of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Conimipyme), Leonardo Torres.
“We have enough land, we have no land limit and we have no water limit, which is key for productivity. What Nicaragua needs are irrigation systems to be able to increase its productive cycle. Nicaragua bases its productive cycle in winter and summer, but we do not have massive irrigation systems and China has those massive irrigation systems, which means a great opportunity for Nicaragua,” Torres explained.
After his arrival from the People’s Republic of China on Sunday December 12, the Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Ivan Acosta, said that the restoration of relations between the governments of Beijing and Managua opens “space for greater investment” and an expansion of the market for Nicaraguan exports, estimated at more than 3.5 billion dollars in 2021.
“The aspiration is to double that amount in the next 10 years and this is only possible with a large market that demands our product and we can establish all the necessary mechanisms to attract more investments, higher quality investments that energize our country’s exports to the world and to the People’s Republic of China,” Acosta said.
The opportunity for the economic development of the Central American nation could reach US$20 billion in the next decade if one considers Chinese investment in Nicaragua with planting and harvesting technology and communication technology in the existing free trade zone, where annual exports are around US$3 billion.
“Nicaragua could easily become an assembler of communication technology, cell phones, home appliances, we can perfectly assemble televisions, sound equipment and Chinese investment could come to settle in technological free trade zones, there is a great opportunity for us,” he said.
The expectations with the new context of international trade development relations of Nicaragua “excite” the businessmen of this country, because according to the head of Conimipyme, it would allow them a sustained growth of up to 9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Here you have another potential for these zones, say $2 billion more in free trade zones tripled for the next 10 years, we would be talking about an exportable development with a jump of the Gross Domestic Product of Nicaragua to 8 to 9% and we would no longer be talking about 4%, for that you have to have the infrastructure of Nicaragua to work on this,” detailed Torres.
The businessman considered that the Government of Nicaragua should rethink the National Plan for the Fight against Poverty and Human Development 2022-2027 to redirect the approaches and development goals for the next five years.
The Nicaraguan government on December 9 recognized China as a single territory and broke off relations with Taiwan, which had been in place since 1990.
The new ties with China enable the Central American nation new prospects for trade and foreign direct investment advanced in conservations between the Government of Nicaragua, the China International Development Cooperation Agency and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and Investment.
The US wants Solomon Islands to go against the obvious economic and social benefits that comes from having relations with China,
“Solomon Islands depends on just straight up foreign aid … certain times … anywhere between 50% and 60% of the Solomon Islands government budget comes from foreign aid. This is not a sovereign country if more than half of all the money you spend is coming from someone else; there’s always strings attached.
What is China offering the Solomon Islands? … number one, tourism; it’s a no-brainer. There’s so many people in China, a lot of them are improving in terms of economics, they have money to travel, they want to travel and they will come to the Solomon Islands in huge numbers, and they will lift that country up. People will make money selling them things, accommodating them, bringing them around – transportation. There will be infrastructure that you can invest in and justify the investment .. then education, training and building up industrial infrastructure so that the Solomon Islands has more things that they can trade.”
Narratives are Amplified with Badly Photoshopped Falsehoods
International media cannot be trusted to give accurate information. Skepticism is especially warranted when China is the topic and allegations of colonizing Africa make headlines.
International media are reporting that the Ugandan government has turned over Entebbe airport to a Chinese bank in order to make payment on a loan. “Museveni to surrender Uganda’s only international airport over Chinese loan,” claimed The Guardian . Similar headlines have appeared widely and all repeat as fact an allegation that Uganda will lose its airport to Exim bank.
Uganda has not defaulted on the $200 million loan yet the false bad news continues to be reported. Despite denials from China and Uganda the story continues to circulate and is now accepted as being true.
The bad journalism resonates despite inaccuracies in these accounts because they repeat a now familiar trope, that China offers “debt traps” to African nations and has become the 21st century colonizer of the continent. In reality, Africa is colonized by the same nations which began their exploitation by carving up the continental at the 1884 Berlin Conference.
It is a French billionaire, Vincent Bolloré , who controls 16 West African ports through bribery and influence peddling. France also controls the CFA currency of its former colonies. Canadian companies control gold mining in Burkina Faso, Mali and Democratic Republic of Congo. Decades after the struggle for independence, British soldiers are still stationed in Kenya .
The U.S. and its allies have little to offer except exploitation in the form of extraction and military control through the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). It is China that pursues development projects with new railroads in Nigeria and Angola, and a highway in Kenya. The only narrative that makes the colonizers look good is a smear against China. The U.S./EU/NATO formation still has a hold on African nations and corporate media continue to act as governmental spokespeople and endlessly repeat whatever they are told.
The terms on Chinese loans are better than those of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). China doesn’t demand austerity in return for project funding, interference is not the goal. The difference is well known and clear and explains why news about China and Africa is so negative and why falsehoods are so readily accepted.
This particular fake news broke just days before the Forum on China-African Cooperation (FOCAC) was scheduled to take place in Dakar, Senegal. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Senegal just weeks earlier and repeated the usual anti-Chinese screeds. The most basic journalistic standards are not followed with these stories which appear at opportune moments. Allegations of Chinese debt traps should be viewed with great skepticism.
Black/African people are very much interested in the condition of their brothers and sisters all over the world. This dynamic is generally a positive one but it also creates a susceptibility to believe in lies when they are spun well enough. The Chinese as colonizer trope has been repeated too often and information about Africa is too scant for most people to analyze these news stories correctly. We are left with nothing but “China is bad” tales that are accepted because of well meaning but misdirected concerns for Africans.
The story of Uganda is particularly complex. The Ugandan government is a U.S. puppet, a full fledged participant in the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), and a terrorist nation which invaded the Democratic Republic of Congo and killed millions of people. While it is important to dispel myths about China it is also important to do so without covering up for Uganda and nations like it.
That is why the Black radical tradition must be nurtured and revived. Without it the world is viewed through the eyes of imperialism’s lackeys and media manipulators. All the truth about African nations and their relations with the rest of the world must be known and clearly understood. Africa is a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI certainly benefits China and its involvement in African countries is obviously a benefit to them. What is needed are impartial journalistic standards free of state run falsehoods and political discernment that reveals useful information.
While the airport story was told and retold, China announced a plan to provide African nations with 1 billion doses of Covid vaccines. The project involves donations and joint ventures which will waive the intellectual property rights that have hampered vaccinations in Africa. Neither the United States or its allies have attempted to do anything similar on behalf of the countries we are told live under Chinese subjugation.
The media do indeed have the power to make the innocent look guilty and the guilty appear innocent. The intricacies of international financing cannot be left to scribes for powerful countries. Events taking place at this juncture in history require far more.
President Xi Jinping, Beijing, China, Dec. 3, 2021. | Photo: Xinhua
Despite pressure from the United States, economic relations between Latin American nations and China continue to flourish.
On Friday, China’s President Xi Jinping asked the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to increase its cooperation modalities with China in order to overcome together the difficulties and challenges that contemporary globalization generates.
“China welcomes Latin American and Caribbean countries to actively participate in the Global Development Initiative and work together with China to overcome difficulties, create opportunities and push forward a global community of development with shared future,” he said when addressing the third Ministerial Meeting of the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States via video link.
“Stressing that peaceful development, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation is the correct path, Xi said that China and CELAC countries are comprehensive cooperative partners following the principle of equality, mutual benefit, and common development,” Chinese outlet CGTN reported.
During the 1st CELAC-China meeting in 2015, Xi announced that his country would increase its investments in LATAM up to US$250 billion and double bilateral trade to US$500 billion before 2025.
Later, at the second CELAC-China meeting that took place in Chile in 2018, the Latin American countries signed the “Declaration of Santiago” committing themselves to innovate the modalities of cooperation with China to achieve sustainable growth and social welfare.
Back then, Xi promoted the New Silk Road, an ambitious project that seeks to improve China’s connection with its main partners on various continents. Despite the fact that the United States is putting pressure on developing countries not to join this proposal, the relations of Latin American nations with China continue to flourish.
In the first three quarters of 2021, China-LATAM trade reached US$331 billion, which represented an increase of 45.5 percent compared to the same period last year. Regarding these achievements, Xi recalled that his nation and the CELAC countries “lent each other a hand” during the pandemic, which allowed trading partners to overcome the economic contraction and resume the path of growth.
We covered the military coup that took place in Bolivia back in November 2019 when Evo Morales was ousted, was removed by the military and through support of the United States with their uh cold war organization known as the OAS, the Organization of American States. So essentially, just to give you a very quick brief background of what happened, Morales had been running the country for about 13 years if I’m not mistaken, and there was a referendum on whether presidents should have term limits or not. Okay, the the people voted that yes you should have term limits. However, Morales appealed this at the supreme court and the Bolivian supreme court said that, nope, there are no term limits, you can run, so he did and he won.
And you had people in this um right-wing opposition in Bolivia and the OAS, the organization of American States which is a cold war era institution based in Washington DC, receives most of its funding from Washington DC, they made these false allegations that the election results were rigged. Okay, because Morales needed a 10% overhead to avoid a runoff and they essentially accused him of fraud and then all of a sudden you had government buildings being burnt down, you had even his sister’s house being burnt down. He refused to,, to resign because he had won the election legitimately. In the end, he was forced to flee.
He fled to Mexico and I think now he’s in Argentina and what’s really interesting. is in December, so this is after the coup, he sat down with Glenn Gruenwald and even back then at the time, he told him straight up, he told him straight up, that the real reason behind this coup was about Bolivia’s resources. Okay, so Bolivia has extraordinary amounts and reserves of lithium, now let me just show you this this clip very quickly from that interview.
We know we know that there was no election fraud this this report that was issued by the OAS saying that there were inconsistencies with the results and that Morales had rigged the election. It’s all complete bs, yet at the time as as expected all of the mainstream media news outlets, in the wes,t framed it as oh look the Bolivian people are standing up for their liberation against the corrupt Morales regime and he falsified the results of the election, they’re illegitimate the OAS verified this. And, oopsie, a few months later, the New York times admits that oh they got it wrong, it turns out that the election wasn’t rigged and you know they made some miscalculations when they crunched the numbers, something I also covered a few months ago, right.
A bitter election accusations of fraud and now second thoughts. See, same thing, same thing that they did with Iraq ,they kept pushing this propaganda that Iraq had WMDs over and over and over again you know, even Condoleezza Rice writing a piece in there making the case for war, and then, uh, after they’ve already invaded Iraq and destroyed it, the New York times are like, oh oops, yeah you know maybe we should have been a bit more vigilant or something you know and done our jobs.
So it’s very important for you to understand what’s at play here. These lithium reserves are no joke. One week, just one week before this coup, turns out Evo Morales had cancelled an agreement that Bolivia had made with a German company. All right now, this German company is called ACI Systems Alemanya. Morales, on November 4th, cancelled the December 2018 agreement with Germany’s ACISA after weeks of protests from residents of the Potosi area. The region has fifty percent to seventy percent of the world’s lithium reserves in the SALADI salt flats and surprise surprise among other clients ACI provides batteries to, Tesla.
Tesla’s stock rose Monday after the weekend and it didn’t just rise in the immediate aftermath of the coup, oh no, it’s been rising ever since. It’s actually risen 600 percent. Tesla stock was valued somewhere around 250 dollars a share just before the coup, now it’s around 1 500. and that’s no coincidence, that’s the global markets reacting to the wonderful imperial news that Elan Musk can now plunder Bolivia’s resources. Now this is a promotional video from Bolivia’s state lithium company one year before the coup. [Music] [Music]
I mean this thing is enormous. Okay, you can you can see it from space these, these salt flats are absolutely enormous we’re talking about tremendous wealth and Morales’ plan, which has been his policy throughout his tenure, is to redistribute the wealth to the people. So this is from Common Dreams, “the nationalization policy of the Morales government and the geographical complexity of salarioni chased away several transnational mining firms from France and FMC from the US and Pasco from south Korea could not make deals with Bolivia so now they operate in Argentina. Morales made it clear that any development of the lithium had to be done with Bolivia’s Comibol, its national mining company, and YLB its national lithium company as equal partners”, meaning you’re not just going to come in here with your multinational transnational companies and screw over Bolivia and the Bolivian people. Morales’ plan from the beginning has been very clear, transnational multinational companies are not allowed to come into Bolivia rip off Bolivia’s resources, screw over the Bolivian people, and then keep plundering unconditionally.
When corporations realize that they were not going to be able to screw over the country they went to Argentina, they went to Chile; not only did these right-wing oligarchs work with the OAS and the United States to get rid of Morales, but on top of it, the interim president Janine Anies openly has invited Elon Musk to come to Bolivia and essentially help plunder their resources. The de facto administration of Janine Anies has already announced its plan to invite numerous multinationals into the vast salt flats in Potosi which holds the precious soft metal. Meanwhile a letter from the coup regime’s foreign minister to Elon Musk dated March 31st says quote, “any cooporation that you or your company can provide to our country will be gratefully welcomed” unquote.
So, this new interim government, this right-wing regime which organized a military coup against Morales, is openly, brazenly inviting these disgusting imperialist multinationals to come into Bolivia and plunder their resources. You call that liberation, you call that democracy, wow. This entire coup, this fascist right-wing coup, has absolutely zero, nothing to do with quote-unquote democracy, or doing anything positive for the Bolivian people. And one of the people standing to profit from this is none other than Elon Musk who owns Tesla who make electric cars and need a large supply of lithium for their batteries.
I want to show you just something that he posted on twitter. So he says another government stimulus package is not in the best interests of the people in my opinion. Which is funny coming from him after he received tons of money from the government in the form of corporate handouts, but okay, and then Armani tells him, you know what wasn’t in the best interest of the people, the US government organizing a coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia so you could obtain the lithium there, and look what it says. We will coup whoever we want, deal with it.
I mean, if you needed any more proof that this guy is an imperialist, capitalist son of a bitch look no further. Not only, not only does his family’s wealth come from apartheid, come from these emerald mines in South Africa, but on top of it, he refused to shut down his Tesla factory during the pandemic risking his workers lives, and then he’s openly admitting now that the coup in Bolivia was so that he could get his hands on the lithium needed for batteries and Tesla cars, zero shame, zero shame.
Are we surprised, are we surprised? This has become part of the norm now, they don’t even bother hiding it, you know Trump also brazenly openly says, look we’re in Syria for the oil, yeah we’re in Syria for the oil. He just openly admits it and this clown over here, this imperialist pig openly admitting that Morales was removed so they could get their hands on the lithium, not even trying to hide it. Man absolutely disgusting and it’s not, it’s not the only thing, what do you think is going on in the Congo as well? You ever heard of koltan? They use children to mine that stuff. He has no shame, this guy has absolutely no shame.
What is absolutely staggering is the willful ignorance, the denial by a large swath of people that this is real, like to them this is some kind of joke, like as if the United States has never intervened and illegally bombed other countries and occupied them with their military in order to steal and plunder their resources. Like the United Fruit Company of Guatemala or going into Iraq for the oil which is now controlled by US multinationals. I mean this is nothing new, what a shameless piece of shit!
So I want to, I want to show you the response from Evo Morales himself. Okay, so what he says and this is, this is a loosely translated, so you’ll forgive me, but he says that Elon Musk, the owner of the largest electric car factory says, regarding the coup in Bolivia, that we will coup whoever we want, which is even more proof that the coup was for Bolivia’s lithium and two massacres for payment, we will always defend our resources
I mean, the treatment, what they did to this dude is absolutely unbelievable. US imperialism knows no bounds, it is absolutely completely shameless and once again it’s not new, right, not just the United Fruit Company or the the oil in Iraq, I mean even uh a Patrice in Congo was assassinated. Eisenhower ordered him assassinated because he wanted to bring in Soviet troops and, at the time during the arms race during the cold war, getting your hands on uranium getting your hands on the necessary ingredients to make nuclear bombs, you would have had Russia and Congo monopolizing that essentially.
So it’s always about resources, make no mistake, and the same thing when the Egyptian president Abdel Nasser tried to nationalize the Suez Canal. He was attacked by the UK, by Israel, by France like how dare you control your own resources and distribute the wealth among your own people! No no no no, we the western powers we gotta come in and take over everything. Make no mistake, when Israel occupies the Golan heights illegally it’s not just a military strategic point, it’s also to get their hands on the oil, it’s to get their hands on the water even has snow up there, yeah they go skiing they have nice little ski resorts on Syrian land.
It’s always about the resources, but then they want to come and tell you that it’s about democracy and then they want to come and tell you it’s about human rights and then they want to come and tell you it’s about election integrity; it’s got zero to do with that and they’re just not even hiding it anymore it’s right there in plain sight, right there in plain sight man. That is totally okay for the United States to back right wing armed opposition groups to conduct military coups, overthrow democratically elected presidents and plunder the resources of other countries in the global south because white man said so. Absolutely shameless, this is why you always got to pay attention. This is why you can’t trust these opposition groups that spring out of nowhere whether we’re talking about Guido or we’re talking about Anies or we’re talking about in Syria. The end result is US military bases and US corporations coming in, being given cache blanche a blank check to do whatever they like exert a military sphere of influence over the region, plunder the country’s resources and maintain a military occupation. Sounds a lot like colonization doesn’t it? And what’s his crime? Morales’ crime is being the first indigenous president and trying to redistribute the wealth among the people, their wealth; disgusting absolutely disgusting.
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