The Russian invasion of Ukrainian has led to the Swiss government imposing sanctions on Russia and wealthy Russians close to Vladimir Putin by freezing their Swiss bank accounts. Lately, Switzerland is also “closely monitoring” Chinese wealth in Swiss banks following the intelligence input – that Beijing is considering supplying Russia with lethal weapons, such as drones and munitions. According to a Financial Times report, Switzerland’s tough stance on sanctions has fueled concern among wealthy Chinese about whether keeping their money in Switzerland is safe.
Its no secret that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is less about economics and more about strategy – China’s strategy. The veneer of economics and development is maintained only to hide the real driving force behind China pumping in tens of billions of Euros into Pakistan. China is now the largest creditor of Pakistan and the latter is likely to become yet another example of China’s debt trap diplomacy. For China, CPEC has no intrinsic value. The real worth of the projects lies in China having not just a footprint but virtual control of two critical pieces of real estate – Gwadar port and the region of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
Determined to weaken the Muslim Uyghur community, the Chinese authorities are organising a forced sterilization policy for the women of this community.
A new expression has recently appeared in the media and international diplomatic circles: ‘wolf warrior’ a term for the new and very assertive Chinese diplomats, who use Twitter and other social media platforms to prey on any person, legal or physical, which criticizes China or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This aggressive Chinese diplomacy has drawn particular attention in recent times due to China’s strenuous efforts to distance itself from any association with Covid-19 or accusations of responsibility for the spread of the virus. But the phenomenon is not entirely new. Because, for years, Chinese diplomats have tended to be more and more aggressive.
China’s policy of corrupting the political class of a country, especially those that are economically fragile, is well known. Many countries in Africa, South & South East Asia and Latin America have fallen prey to these Chinese machinations and some are now neck deep in Chinese debt.
The modus operandi often adopted by China to make inroads into economically weaker nations, whether in Asia, Africa or Latin America, has been to strike deals with corrupt Heads of State. This enables Chinese companies to not only further their business interests in that country but the Chinese State to surreptitiously penetrate the nation’s polity, with the objective to ensure its long-term influence. The Himalayan nation of Nepal is emerging as a classic example of this Chinese machination where the ruling Nepal Communist Party, led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been seen to blatantly advance Chinese interests, to the extent that it has made many senior members of his party uncomfortable.
Paris and Beijing are intensifying contacts and initiatives aimed at defusing the effects of the diplomatic crisis that broke out between both countries in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, following “aggressive publications” issued by the Chinese embassy in Paris, denounced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as fake news.
The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was launched nearly 5 years ago with much fanfare. However, over the last few years, the progress of the CPEC has been hampered by questions on the economic viability of these protests for Pakistan, China’s increasingly intrusive presence in the country and huge environmental concerns.
The Covid 19 pandemic exacerbates anti-Chinese resentment in the countries of Central Asia. But, despite the grumbling of the populations, the local governments, financially vulnerable with regard to Beijing, struggle to oppose Chinese Neo-Imperialism.
The international media is so focused on the corona virus epidemic that is spreading rapidly across the world, that a small incident in the Pakistani port city of Karachi went almost unnoticed. The incident took place near the port area in Karachi on the night of February 16, where it was reported that due to a gas leak at least 14 people were killed and several hundred hospitalised with chest pains, burning eyes and breathing difficulties. The Sindh government, thereafter, also ordered the evacuation of the coastal residential area of Keamari , which was worst affected.
