Chinese mining bosses are funding Nigerian militant groups in order to secure access to the country’s mineral reserves,
Well, maybe, Probably the other way around, the militias are charging rents to the Chinese in areas they control. But, you know. This:
In one pocket of Zamfara, researchers found, interaction with militants runs so deep that some serve as runners for Chinese miners who have spread throughout Nigeria, controlling digs for gold. The country has some of the largest gold reserves in the world.
Does it? Nigeria doesn’t even appear in the list of the top 19 countries by gold reserves.
What’s he on about?
Nigeria’s gold reserves are a key factor in the nation’s economic health and strength. With an estimated gold reserves of 21.46 metric tons for 2022, Nigeria has one of the most abundant gold reserves in the world, accounting for about 5% of the global gold reserves.
Oooooh. But how much the central bank has down in the cellar has really nothing at all to do with how much is out there in the rocks now, does it?
Think about where these stories come from, and who might be interested in monstering the Chinese for trying to run a business.
Y’know, for a country that they’re now more or less openly treating as an “enemy”, I can’t think of a single thing the Chinee have done to me or mine other than politely sell us food and electronic gadgets.
But I’m supposed to be angry about them employing some blokes in Africa who also have nothing to do with me.
Chinese, Nigerians, militant nutcases. Sounds like a paradise on earth, doesn’t it!
So… the chinese have no problem with dealing with the local gang problem and general corruption.
They simply buy the lads off and make them run errands.
Probably more pragmatic and cheaper than buying off the Official Government
GangOfficials who don’t control the area to begin with.Sam – Yarp, it’s a gigashithole.
Larry Summers (the American one) made a good observation recently. The Chinese rock up in third world countries and build the locals new airports and roads. Western politicians show up to offer them a lecture.
And guess what? He is right:
China is Nigeria’s No 1 trading partner and has more than 1,000 companies registered in the country, after a decade in which it has poured vast sums into infrastructure projects to overtake the US as Africa’s largest investor
[…]
Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs select committee and the China Research Group of MPs, said reports of Chinese companies funding militant groups were “deeply concerning”. She called on the British government to assist Nigeria in “strengthening regulatory oversight and governance of Chinese companies in the sector”.
Gosh, I wonder which approach will be more likely to win influence and profitable deals in Nigeria? More research is needed.
The Chinese play the long game and are slowly building up locations for housing military bases around Africa and Europe, either by trade agreements or loans for infrastructure improvements which are then foreclosed and the countries not able to repay. Ceylon and Montenegro spring to mind. I wonder how long it will be before Calais becomes Beijing on Sea?
Penseivat: now compare their extraterritorial military bases with, say, those of the US and while you’re at it the infrastructure achieved via IMF loans. Chinese built infrastructure correlates inversely with amounts of aid creamed off to offshore accounts
‘Probably more pragmatic and cheaper than buying off the Official Government (Gang) Officials who don’t control the area to begin with.’
Must agree with you Grikath.
I’d also agree with Steve. The Chinese approach probably produces more real wealth for the Nigerians than a whole pack of NGO’s.
Chinese colonialism.
I’m wondering when the denunciations will begin to appear in the Guardian.
Owen?
Think about where these stories come from, and who might be interested in monstering the Chinese for trying to run a business.
There’s a fun dilemma for the Canadian right. They’re on the anti-Ukraine-war bandwagon because their Liberal government is for Ukraine, but their Liberal government is also deep in Chinese corruption so they’re against China. Their dance around the similar propaganda strains is quite amusing.
There’s probably something similar in Australia. Safely anti-Ukraine-war but too close to the clear dangers of China to adopt the deluded detachment of the UK right, which seems to have moved into the hysterical stop-the-war segment vacated by the left in its lurch to the Satanic.
PJF – if only there was some way of peacefully buying and selling stuff with Asian countries, without letting millions of them move in and/or start buying up the local government.
The Canadian government’s dance around Chinese election interference is quite amusing, especially given in some areas it’s been considered common knowledge for quite a while.
I assume the media didn’t want to report on it before as they were too busy trying to unsuccessfully pin Russian collusion on Trump. I wonder if there’s some government and media people wishing they hadn’t pushed that narrative quite so hard now.
If the twat is talking about central bank reserves, looking here Nigeria doesn’t make the top 50 – it is not possible for them to have anywhere near ‘about 5% the [sic] global gold reserves.’ The factual inaccuracy as well as the stilted language and meaningless bumph to pad out the piece make me think either ChatGPT or a 15 year old with a school essay due tomorrow am.
At some point in the future, the local crime boss will try to get more money out of the Chinese company only to be told that all the boss’s underlings now make so much money working for the company, that the threat of withdrawal completely removes the boss’s power.
China is doing the same to whole countries – it will become impossible to wage war against China as citizens would rebel against anything stopping their supply of stuff. And that cuts both ways – China will become incapable of waging war on its customers as that would destroy too much of its economy.