China promises Costa Rica to buy for 300 million dollars of bonds, to invest in the economy, as well as make it the first tourist destination for the Chinese. What are the stakes in such a phenomenon? That is what our three interventionists – Richard Behar, John Grobler and Giannina Segnini – have tried to discover in different regions of the world.
In Costa Rica, the country’s internal politics are greatly influenced by Chinese politics, observes Giannina Segnini: “Beijing uses reserve funds in order to sway Costa Rica’s position on the Tapei situation”. But Chinese business is very corrupted. The funds originally come from an unknown private society, and information could only be found in Hong Kong’s register of companies. In Africa, China uses the argument of poverty in order to establish itself onto the continent. The Democratic Republic of Congo is a perfect example. It is a politically unstable country, and easily manipulated by Chinese authorities, which in settling their industries there creates employment for the Congolese people. China then enables the African economy to develop itself, particularly as the financial aid from Occidental countries, the World Bank or international organizations is increasingly scarce. Africa finds itself in a difficult situation, and is struggling to develop. China then is taking advantage of this in order to extend its market. Today, China is one of the largest consumers in the world and is constantly looking for new resources, whilst Africa is a large reserve of precious metals and raw materials. There is also the wood Mafia, which is illegally exporting wood from Mozambique in order to sell it to Chinese societies: “The great Chinese take away”. Namibia is another example, also under pressure from China, looking to obtain precious metals in exercising a strong influence on the political elite.