Posted on 03/19/2020 4:11:35 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Iran and Italy's economies are worsening, and their people are suffering most in this Wuhan virus outbreak — all because of their leaders’ short-sighted and foolish decisions.
The coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, has now swept through 126 countries, infected close to 170,000 people worldwide, and is responsible for more than 6,400 deaths as of March 15. China is leading the world in the number of confirmed cases and deaths. What many people find shocking is that Italy and Iran are the second- and third-hardest hit nations in this outbreak.
By any common-sense measure, both countries should have much lower numbers of confirmed cases and deaths because they are geographically far from the epicenter of the outbreak. The reason these two countries are suffering the most outside China is mainly due to their close ties with Beijing, primarily through the “One Belt and One Road” (OBOR) initiative.
OBOR is Beijing’s foreign policy play disguised as infrastructure investment. Here’s how it works: China and country X agree to do an infrastructure project in country X. Country X has to borrow from a Chinese bank to finance the project. A contract is always awarded to Chinese companies, which then bring supplies and Chinese employees to country X to build the project.(snip)
While this initiative has worked out well for China’s strategic interests, it hasn’t done the same for participating countries. At least eight countries that signed on the OBOR initiative are so indebted to the Chinese that they had to hand over their strategic assets to China to offset their debt. Despite these worrisome precedents, leaders in both Italy and Iran eagerly signed up to OBOR in 2019, hoping the red capital from Communist China would rescue their nations from economic woes. Now they are paying a dear price for it.
(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...
Countries that make deals with the devil will pay a dear price.
Just like the United States?
China the new colonial master.
I wonder how much in bribes China paid those that made the decision to do business with China.
I wonder how much in bribes our own elected officials have taken from China.
I wonder how much in bribes our news media and entertainment industry have taken to support Chinese policies?
Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.
All of this was not necessary Italy’s own doing. The NY Times, surprisingly had an article about how the Chinese came to dominate the Italian shoe and clothing mfg industry. Up until the 1990s Italy had hundreds of small business family owned shoe and clothing manufacturers that employed 50 to 100 local Italians. The Chinese suppliers use to send buyers to the Shoes in Milan and Turin and all they did was take pictures. Within 5 years, Chinese state backed businesses were mfg Italian style cloths and shoes. The German Retail industry starting buying Italian style made cloths and shoes from China and eventually all of the Local Italian businesses closed up.
What happens next under EU directives is Chinese Industry went in and bought up all the idle Italian factories. Then the Chinese Managers of those plants started arguing the local Italians don’t respond to the Chinese business model and what happens next, the EU trade agreements with China allow Chinese Firms to sponsor Chinese nationals to come work in Italy. Germany and Ms. Merkel along with Macron of France support these initiatives. Some Italian politicians who are pro EU do as well. Well today you have 100K of them in Northern Italy. However, early on in Italy there were warning signs about this with the rise of Conservative parties criticizing the EU as nothing other than a free market for German and French industry to dominate Europe. the UK, which is not connected to continental Europe was also at a disadvantage and of course the migrant crisis and other issues caused Brexit.
This issue along with the EU, DAVOS, UN Global economic model of no borders and migrants moving from point A to point B is large in part the cause for the rise of parties like Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli Di Italia and Salvini’s parties, both which want to retain control of Italian internal affairs and not be dictated from Germany, France and EU bureaucrats in Brussels.
I watch lots of Italian media and you tube vidoes and their is a growing movement for Italexit similar to Brexit on the one hand or some who want serious reforms to the EU and move it back to a purely trade agreement zone without all the other stuff that it has morphed into.
I was going to comment with the same observation. re: making deals with the Devil.
How’s the NBA doing?
LeBron especially. ...
Well, in this case the Italians were making deals with the DIRTY. The Italians hire a TON of Chinese because their labor was cheap, cheap, cheap.
The virus started in China so to get 4,700 MILES away there had to be a carrier...and their cheap, Chinese labor brought it in.
Fascinating, thank you.
There are too many people in the PRC. They gotta go somewhere.
ping
Pres Clinton lobbied at WH gala by donor Bernard L. Schwartz, CEO of Space & Communications Ltd., of New York.......
Clinton collected donations ........then shipped US missile tech to China.
JOHNNY CHUNG: "Gotta put coins in---ka-ching---to make Clintons do something."
Doesn’t our ‘party leader’ crying former Speaker of the House now represent the Chinese? Against American interests. Isn’t that, uh, treason?
Both sides are checking those oil contracts with magnifying glasses at the moment. Both market price and Chinese demand are down simultaneously. That really couldn't be worse for the Iranians. On the other hand, the U.S. is doing our part to help them by knocking off their senior IRG generals. Think of the salary and benefits they're saving! They should thank us.
The globalist cheap labor crowd in Italy have made Chinese the largest immigrant demographic in Italy. They work hard and work cheap. Then they travel back and forth to the homeland and bring viruses back along with them. The globalist and cheap labor faction should pay a price.
https://www.economist.com/special-report/2018/05/17/long-term-chinese-immigrants-in-italy
Then we have Lindsay Graham selling US citizenship to Chinese and Indians at a time when Americans losing jobs.
Dear Mr. President,
You are doing a fantastic job!
Why not tie “America First” to “Made in America”?
Push that meme in your announcements, speeches and rallies to your audiences: “Let’s make it Made in America!”
This will motivate industry patriots to source and manufacture here at home.
Respectfully,
Mark Davis
The idea that we’re any better than the Italians and the Iranians is rather amusing. China manufactures nearly all of the APIs for our drugs and controls our medical supply chain. That’s far from the only industry vital to national security - and this coronavirus cris - that has been outsourced.
Great article. Very informative.
Kenya lost its main port of Mombasa to the Chinese through this move. It’s time for the rest of the world to tell them thanks for the roads, now get out.
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