in the ports of china at night
things are starting to get interesting
logistical routes are growing by the
second around the world
day by day deal by deal country
by country are we about to witness a
plan for world domination
with trade rather than on the
battlefield this
is china's trillion dollar bet there's
an old chinese proverb
it goes something like this never put
off what you can do today
for tomorrow
today the united states is the world's
premier superpower
but tomorrow that will almost certainly
change
that's because china has put down about
1.9 trillion dollars
of funding to create the largest trade
network
in world history so today we're going to
give you the inside scoop
on what the plan is how it will be
carried out
and why it is a threat america's
economic dominance
china's plan is known as the bri
which stands for the belt and road
initiative
at its core it is a massive
infrastructure plan
that aims to link most of asia africa
and europe into one giant trade network
the idea behind it is to create a series
of ports
railways and highways that can be used
to ship chinese goods
across the world with these being linked
by six economic corridors
that will be large centers of trade and
while this idea may seem far-fetched
it is quickly becoming a reality as of
today
a total of 140 countries have signed on
the bri with some of these including
regional powerhouses
such as pakistan saudi arabia turkey
and italy and thanks to the last u.s
administration
for ignoring these developments the bri
has expanded massively over the past few
years
but one big question still remains how
this
is all going to work total trade between
china and other belts and road countries
has exceeded
3 trillion us dollars from 2014 to 2016
and china's investment in this country
has surpassed
50 billion us dollars chinese companies
have set up 56
economic cooperation zones in over 20
countries
generating for those countries some 1.1
billion us dollars of tax revenue
and 180 000 jobs the initiative is never
a competitor
rather they aims to complement the
strategy of countries
involved by leveraging the comparative
strengths
as of now china has convinced 140
countries
to partake in their projects by
providing them with low interest loans
that are more attractive than those
offered by the american-controlled
imf or world bank once these loans are
extended by either the government
or the government-controlled companies
the chinese governments
then send over experts to supervise the
creation
of their bri mega projects with most
involving both local and chinese
laborers
one example of this is sri lanka's
hambantota port
which was financed to the tune of eight
billion dollars
from chinese banks in 2017.
interesting enough in order to hold a
more commanding geopolitical position in
the region
china even managed to pull a rather
shocking debt
for equity move that's because in
exchange for waiving 1.1 billion in debt
owed
by the sri lankan government china
received an 85
stake in the port which will remain
leased to china for the next
99 years another major project
has been kenya's mombasa nairobi railway
linking the large coastal city of
mombasa with the country's capital of
nairobi
it was built with the help of 3.6
billion in financing
from the chinese government and in the
future
the plan is to link kenya's railway with
other railways
across east africa and what is more
interesting
china has even financed upgrades of
existing
infrastructure one such example was a
deal reached with the greek government
who in 2016 agreed to sell china
a 67 stake in the port's revenue in
exchange
for 369.3 million euros in cash
and 600 billion euros in upgrades
and as of now this plan has worked
without a hitch
according to a 2019 study more than two
dozen countries
now owe more than 10 percent of their
gdp to the chinese government
in other words the amount of money these
countries owe to china
is equal to about 10 percent of all
economic output in the country
at first glance while this may seem like
a problem it is a sign of each country's
faith
in the bri as these large investments
indicate
that they will do whatever is necessary
to make sure that the bri
succeeds low to middle income countries
as a group or 370 billion us dollars to
china
far surpassing the 246 billion us in
debt
that they owed to all the 22 paris club
members combined
this is a big deal because the paris
club is made up of some of the most
powerful countries
in the world as it includes major
players such as the united states
united kingdom japan and germany
therefore
the fact that china loans out more money
to developing countries
than all of these paris club members
combined shows how china is willing to
put its money
where its mouth is in order to ensure
that the bri
is completed both efficiently and
effectively
to conclude we think it's fair to say
that while china is on the rise
the united states and its allies are in
some serious trouble
and unless they begin to take the bri
seriously
they may soon find themselves at odds
with the chinese economic
empire while china remains committed to
investing
trillions improving its economic ties
with other nations
growing skepticism is building with its
largest trading partner
the united states of america
sensationalism has taken over the news
headlines fueling fear
like china's military and the belt road
initiative
bill.com weaponizing the belt road
initiative
asia society how is china influencing
african military and police forces the
washington post
in our competitive and fast-moving world
many nations
align themselves together building
relationships
some nations believe in other strategies
is china using the bri to expand its
military strategy
we leave you with a few facts to
[Music]
consider
let us know in the comments down below
whether you think china will eventually
overtake the united states
and if you enjoyed this video don't
forget to like and subscribe
until next time thanks again reportify
[Music]
media
[Music]
you