The narrative that China’s signature Belt and Road Initiative is merely a ploy to extend China’s influence abroad is missing the big picture.
Surely, increased economic influence is a positive byproduct for Beijing, but that does not preclude important benefits for others.
Take, for example, Southeast Asia, a region that China is transforming economically – for the better.
“Rather than setting up new entities, Chinese companies tend to invest and cooperate with existing players,” Jeffrey Sun told The Asset.
Many of the Chinese firms are taking minority stakes in companies, said Sun, who is a partner at Orrick’s, an international law firm that advises Chinese e-commerce firms.
“The role of Chinese companies investing in the e-commerce space in Southeast Asia is mainly about bringing in the funds and the technology,” according to Sun.
“China, compared to certain regions in Southeast Asia, is relatively more advanced in e-commerce development. In the meantime, Chinese companies gain local on the ground logistic resources – even it is not 100% controlled by [the Chinese entity].”
While Beijing has been wary of overseas investment in certain sectors, following a capital outflow scare, “for logistics and e-commerce, the Chinese government seems to be more willing for Chinese investors to go out, which is a good thing for the Chinese government to do,” Sun said.
“I expect the Chinese government to facilitate China’s ODI (overseas direct investment), rather than directly investing government’s money. At least, I believe this is a case in e-commerce, and I want to see this trend replicate in other areas as well,” says Sun.
Due to home political infighting past five, six years the fifth, six generations Chinese become a Scapegoat bcos "they exploit, steal our resources"
there is the natural geographic advantage of adjacency. The Chinese philosophy of enterprise is not exclusively exploitative as the USA version is. Chinese enterprise is posited on an over-all mutually beneficient increase in investment, employment and consumption, rather than in the garnering of surpluses for the corporate investor.
Ivor Large haha
KS Chin The locals regard the ethnic Chinese in SE Asia are colonists, and not to be trusted as they prioritise their own over the country they live in.
You need to travel more.meet people rather than read what someone (like the CCP) tell you
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And, they wonder WHY Duterte leans Cbina’s way.. Stupid catholics sheeps…
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Ivor, what is not explained is why the relative success? Thats because South East Asia has economic links to China spanning centuries. There are millions of ethinic Chinese who has settled down in all the countries in South East Asia including the Philippines. This is business, nothing to do with politics,CCP or whatever. Only people like you see everything within a political framework. The Chinese companies find it easy to collaborate with the Chinese in these SEA countries and dont have the cultural gap or racial suspicions which you regularly promote. Dr Mahathir sums it best when asked by foreign media. He compared with the colonisations by SPain, Portugal, British, French and Dutch, even US. But all China wanted to do was trade.
I think we’d all welcome the transformation of SE Asian (and Central Asian) economies, if only people could trust the CCP.