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Beijing virtually 'takes over' the Caribbean island of Dominica

Wednesday, December 11th 2013 - 00:06 UTC
Full article 11 comments

Dominica and China have signed a new 300 million dollars cooperation agreement that includes the construction of a hotel, construction of an international airport and building a new hospital. The sum involved is equivalent to a third of the small Caribbean island GDP, which could mean Beijing virtually is 'purchasing' the small territory. Read full article

Comments

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  • Rufus

    I'm not sure if “buying” is necessarily the right term, given the location of Dominica, I'd imagine that the location would make it hard to actually collect, especially if there's a sudden change in government after all of the shiny new buildings have been finished.

    Rented (while they are being built) perhaps...

    Dec 11th, 2013 - 10:04 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • GALlamosa

    Beautiful island, lovely people, interesting history. Wonder where they will put the airport.

    Dec 11th, 2013 - 10:40 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Briton

    so china is slowly expanding its portfolio,

    where next we wonder..

    Dec 11th, 2013 - 11:11 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Britworker

    China has obviously not had it's fingers burnt yet with expropriation, not sure most countries would dare. They have done the same in many countries in Africa, it's all about resources, a billion people need a lot of just about everything.

    Dec 11th, 2013 - 01:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ChrisR

    China is also about projecting itself near to the States with this move.

    Dec 11th, 2013 - 07:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • screenname

    The manner in which China is going about taking over tertiary industries, while muscling out competition, in other sovereign states should be very worrying for everyone.

    It is happening (although at different rates) on a global scale: while visiting one resort in Spain I noted that around half the shops and restaurants were run by Chinese expats. This 'soft imperialism' will not end well

    As we've seen with the attitude of Spain, trying to bring nations with an underlying dodgy moral attitude in from the cold via the benefits of trade simply doesn't work, unless it is continually reciprocated with some sort of moral reform step-by-step.

    We see it now in Europe, where Spain is more integrated than the UK and now using this to attack Gibraltar... We also see it in the far east, where China is now a global powerhouse and the UK's protests regarding Tibet have become noticeably muted.

    China's attempt to corrupt the UN by hoovering up the voting power of sovereign states indebted to them will not end well for anybody except China.

    Dec 11th, 2013 - 07:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Anglotino

    Screenname

    China is the next Japan. Over the next 20 years it problems are going to be so huge that it will have trouble holding together its own country without trying to take over others.

    Japan's real estate and asset buying binge in the 1980s had everyone saying the same thing..... and yet how much does anyone remember now just over 20 years later?

    Dec 11th, 2013 - 08:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Viscount Falkland

    WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE !

    Dec 12th, 2013 - 12:01 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Room101

    Every contract has a strategic intent.

    Dec 12th, 2013 - 07:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • GeoffWard2

    Dominica - a deepwater port, a set of MRBMs ... and we have the Bay of Pigs and Cuba all over again.

    Still, Dominica is nearer to Venezuela than the USA,
    so perhaps China will simply collect the 'rosary beads' called the Caribbean, eventually making landfall in Venezuela.

    Dec 12th, 2013 - 08:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Anglotino

    China already owns a large chunk of Venezuelan sovereignty.

    More that the Venezuelan government would care to admit.

    Dec 12th, 2013 - 09:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0

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