It was in only last week when the majors rating agencies, including Moody’s, down graded Greece’s bonds to junk status. You would think that no one in his right mind would give Greece a second look about investing, but the Chinese has taken the plunge in investing some of their large cash reserves in Greece. In a country that spawned all those noted philosophers, it would seem illogical for anyone now to invest there.
China’s faith in the Greeks and they being able to restore their financial books to being in the black anytime soon is like the classic episode of South Park where the Devil, wagered against himself in a fight against Jesus, while the patrons in the bar where this took place, wagered against Jesus. The Chinese are adhering to the tried and true investment adage of investing when blood is in the water; and there is blood in the water in Greece and elsewhere. And even if these investments do not see exponential gains, the Chinese could more than afford to lose their seed monies.
The Chinese investments in Greece were in important industries, such as telecommunication and ship building – the latter being conducive to ferry China’s cheap products. When China isn’t investing, it is being a benefactor, spreading its monies to curry favor. With America fighting in two theaters and our fiscal house in disarray, the Chinese are using their vast reserves, ironically with monies we give them to fund our debts and from their enormous trade imbalance via imports/exports. This orgy of investing on the part of the Chinese is not only worrisome from a trade and economic point of view – this impacts the West from a strategic point of view too.
Close to a decade ago, a friend of mine, who used to work for one of our intelligence outlets, lamented the fact that the Chinese were investing in important infrastructures in Panama, in many small islands in the Caribbean, and in strategic areas around the world. My friend was thinking of the strategic ramifications for America and the West. Who thwarts us in the UN on various issues? What do you think will happen - and it has happened - if many countries are the beneficiaries of the Chinese largesse? Who wanted President Obama not to welcome the Dalai Lama at the White House, almost dictating that we do not follow the protocols afforded a head of State. You may say so what… retorting that all Hegemonies, including these Unite States, influence other state actors: true, but this is a piggish norm where we fight to have our ideals hold sway.
Our ideals should hold sway because we still are governed by the rule of law, compared to our Chinese brothers who still do so by fiat. I am certain that the board of directors of British Petroleum are elated that this Gulf tragedy did not happen in Main Land China. You do know what happened to the Chinese officials who were in charged of the shoddy buildings, which came tumbling down during the recent devastating earth quakes or the officials who were in charged of the factories, which caused deaths because of contamination. I omitted the questions marks because my queries were obviously rhetorical. Greece and others may not have a choice in accepting the Chinese monies, whether in the form of investments or largesse, but we must be mindful that it does not happen in a vacuum; nor is it void of serious consequences.
Who Dares To Invest In Greece – The Chinese Are
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