Still a lot better than what the USA does - better to build out country’s infrastructure and then hold them ransom with the debt than bombing schools, but it doesn’t make them good or beyond criticism.
They frequently do, they can’t afford to run endless charity though, so loans with few restrictions are often used to help speed up development in a more sustainable way.
But they haven’t.
Right now PRC holds all the assets and gets all the revenue, and laos holds all the debt and all the risks, for 30 years. China has used this to grant themselves positions of control over large parts of the infrastructure planning.
China and laos have strong friendship… According to China today? 🤨
I’m not saying that China is currently taking advantage of Laos, I’m saying that China has put Laos in a position where nothing is stopping them from taking advantage of Laos. The threat is implicit.
As I’ve said repeatedly what China is doing is better than what the USA is doing. But that’s bar is so low that it’s buried under the ground. Being better than the USA doesn’t make them beyond criticism and doesn’t make it good. The lesser of evils is still evil.
In his New Year greetings to Xi, Thongloun said that with Xi’s care and guidance, traditional Laos-China friendship has grown stronger, political mutual trust has deepened, and their comprehensive strategic cooperation has yielded fruitful results.
Thongloun has pledged to instruct various departments of his country to work with the Chinese side to ensure the success of the celebrations marking the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the friendship year, build a Laos-China community with a shared future with high standards, high quality and high level, and continue to elevate bilateral relations and practical cooperation in all fields to new heights in the new era, setting an example for building a community with a shared future for humanity.
It isn’t just a baseless “trust me bro,” China daily just reported on diplomacy between Laos and China. Either way, it sounds like you’re confusing the potential for bad for bad itself, for the time being there’s absolutely nothing to suggest China taking advantage of Laos.
Debt trapping, for example, laos.
Still a lot better than what the USA does - better to build out country’s infrastructure and then hold them ransom with the debt than bombing schools, but it doesn’t make them good or beyond criticism.
The PRC is not debt trapping Laos, both are socialist countries with good relations.
Then China should forgive the debt.
They frequently do, they can’t afford to run endless charity though, so loans with few restrictions are often used to help speed up development in a more sustainable way.
But they haven’t.
Right now PRC holds all the assets and gets all the revenue, and laos holds all the debt and all the risks, for 30 years. China has used this to grant themselves positions of control over large parts of the infrastructure planning.
China does frequently forgive loans. As socialist countries, China and Laos have strong friendship and cooperative ties. Laos is not in any danger from the loans, and has been steadily developing partially with the assistance of said loans.
China and laos have strong friendship… According to China today? 🤨
I’m not saying that China is currently taking advantage of Laos, I’m saying that China has put Laos in a position where nothing is stopping them from taking advantage of Laos. The threat is implicit.
What could China do that the US dropping more bombs than were dropped during the entirety of WWII didn’t do?
As I’ve said repeatedly what China is doing is better than what the USA is doing. But that’s bar is so low that it’s buried under the ground. Being better than the USA doesn’t make them beyond criticism and doesn’t make it good. The lesser of evils is still evil.
Here’s what Thongloun said:
It isn’t just a baseless “trust me bro,” China daily just reported on diplomacy between Laos and China. Either way, it sounds like you’re confusing the potential for bad for bad itself, for the time being there’s absolutely nothing to suggest China taking advantage of Laos.
The potential for bad is bad. It’s why benevolent dictatorship is still bad.
Let’s not forget the long history of vassal state politicians praising and thanking their subjugator.
Again, I think this is better than what the USA does, but it’s still worthy of criticism.