Yay I live in Shrekland!
This is also as good a time as any to say that I played Shrek in a school theatre performance.
Side note: China is not doing very based stuff with its investments here generally, so I'm not 100% confident on how good this is gonna be.
I'm not talking about Belt and Road in particular, I am talking about how Chinese investors are mass buying apartments in the city center and turning them into airbnbs making the rents go up, as well as them buying a major port, which the workers reacted to for a number of reasons, and there were some really sketchy negotiations.
Yes, I've experienced something similar where I live. Tends to be bourgeoise Chinese who expect the CPC to expropriate their property (inshallah) so they're trying to move as much of their assets out of China as possible.
if we are to believe the Varufucker any Pireas/Athens port investment deal that they got from China/ Cosco (which i doupt was part of B&R) was noticably better in terms and strings attached compared to western alternatives for similar investments , even if it still wasnt GOOD in a vacuum. And that Germany/EU blocked a bunch of them. Dont know the deeper timeline of the deals , cosco was already very preasent in Pireus even before Tsipras and a lot of deals were made before and after up to now. Since no government since the crisis had or will have any balls for any actual good move on the port (nationalizing or pushing for only much more mutualy benefitial investments from chinese state companies-they do do em in a lot of countries-) i guess Pireus was gonna be grabbed by foreign investments either way for a piece of bread compared to what it could be done with it if we didnt have neolib cucks . Maybe it was bettween the cosco deal which is still bad or some Africa style semi-colonialy controlled port
Yes, I am not talking about Syriza's deal specifically, as you said Cosco has had a lot of presence before that, I am talking about the company's dealings in general. I believe it started with Giorgos Papandreou (who is generally a big advocate for cooperation between the EU, Greece and China)? Idk I don't remember but I remember reading from time to time sketchy shit they were doing while negotiating with both the state as well as workers, as well as bad labor conditions. They also apparently used Golden Dawn scabs to attack or threaten striking workers and journalists. Here is a few articles in Greek:
https://www.efsyn.gr/ellada/koinonia/174161_skoteino-prosopo-toy-kinezikoy-giganta
https://iskra.gr/%CE%B5%CF%80%CE%AF%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B7-%CF%87%CF%81%CF%85%CF%83%CE%B1%CF%85%CE%B3%CE%B9%CF%84%CF%8E%CE%BD-%CF%83%CE%B5-%CE%B4%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BF%CE%B3%CF%81%CE%AC%CF%86%CE%BF/
http://www.katiousa.gr/epikairotita/ti-gyrevei-alepou-sto-pazari-synantisi-voulefti-tis-cha-tin-presveira-tis-kinas/
The last one is about an MP of Golden Dawn having a meeting with the Chinese ambassador, which definitely had to do with Cosco.
I haven't paid too much attention but there is a lot of things wrong with Cosco. Perhaps Belt and Road would be good but I don't automatically trust it. But again I haven't read too much about it.
thank you as well for the write up! (halfway just commenting so I don't forget to check this out later)
Doesn’t it say in Portugal’s constitution that the goal of the country is a socialist state when conditions can be met?
Nope, it still has it.
Here's the constituition in Portuguese. The 4th paragraph of the preamble is the one that says in its 3rd line that it strives to construct a socialist society, respecting the desires of the portuguese people, towards the construction of a freer, more just and more fraternal country.
New Zealand telling the US to go fuck themselves in the 80s paying dividends in international relations I see.
Broke from the ANZUS defence treaty, and banned any nuclear powered ship from docking (ie. most of the US Navy). There were serious economic consequences and Regan considered a trade blockade, but got distracted and forgot. New Zealand has maintained a west-sympathetic but independent foreign policy ever since.
Australia tried something a bit more modest in the 70s, but we're an important anti-China staging ground, and we got stamped on and soft couped. New Zealand was just small enough and far away enough to escape.
Sorry the international community unanimously condemns this aggressive act of infrastructure diplomacy
lol I was gonna point out how the grey countries are basically "the international community"
I posted another comment in thread with a link but fast and dirty version is:
Would you be surprised to find out it's :amerikkka: sanctions?
"Countries that want to be involved with 21st economic development."
I absolutely agree. I also think it's a de facto expression of belief that China will surpass the US as the worlds main (economic) power or essential trading partner. Or else a bet that the US cannot afford to freeze out like half the global economy. Idk still working out my thoughts here.
Everyone was told for decades by the US that China was ok to do business with so people developed infrastructure, trade deals and rotues, partnerships, supply chains and everything else associated with globalization (which the US also ENDLESSLY and RELENTLESSLY pushed through the IMF and world bank not to mention wars) and trade with China. And now what? The US has decided to essentially turn on a dime and totally shift away from all of that because it benefits their short term goals and then expect literally the whole planet to shift alongside them under threat of war and sanctions.
The hubris required here is just incalculable.
https://www.oboreurope.com/en/luxembourg-member-bri/ seem to just want in on the chinese banking business.
Luxembourg is basically just an overgrown banking office, so that makes sense.
Hopefully Brazil will jump in once Lula is president 2023 and bolsonaro's inevitable coup attempt fails
Edit: this kept me wondering... Lula had a certain interest on developing infrastructure in other Latin American countries and even some African ones (which is a common criticism from the opposition), like ports, plus on keeping close relations with China. I wonder if his government was aiming to speed up the integration of South America into the BRI. Would explain why America was hell-bent on destroying Brazil in the 10's
Fun fact, chinese officials came to mexico to include them in the Belt and Road initiative, and the PRI government made a cheaper version of the infrastructure projects they were presented by the chinese, using their friends' construction companies and pocketing the difference, so they were told by the chinese to lose their number and to never ever call them back.
