• Dessa [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    “I’m happy to ibtroduce to you my belt and road initiative for US citizens: Tighten your belt and hit the road, jack”

  • Vampire [any]@hexbear.netOP
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    1 year ago

    The whitehouse.gov press release says:

    • two separate corridors, the east corridor connecting India to the Arabian Gulf, and the northern corridor connecting the Arabian Gulf to Europe.

    • railway network ship-to-rail transit between India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Europe

    • electric cables, data cables, hydrogen pipeline along the railways

    • Participants are Saudi Arabia, the EU, India, UAE, France, Germany, Italy, and the USA

  • Snackuleata [any]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    The one time I caught NPR on the radio it announced this. The contrast between the reporter’s breathless admiration for Biden’s bold leadership immediately followed by Biden muttering “It’s a big deal…” had me rolling.

    • Vampire [any]@hexbear.netOP
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      1 year ago

      I thought it was weaksauce the way Biden had to say “It’s a big deal” – that should speak for itself.

      Or you should find a better way to say it: biggest infrastructure project since the Marshall Plan, will increase world GDP by 3%, something something

  • zephyreks [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    Who’s funding it? The EU is in crisis, the US never funds infrastructure properly, and Saudi Arabia/India are more interested in coupling with each other via BRICS+ than with anyone else.

    Can’t wait for the West to fund a Saudi-India trade terminal and then run out of money.

    • Shrike502@lemmygrad.ml
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      1 year ago

      Perhaps the bet is on India clashing with China over various bs and wanting to have its own trade corridor?

      • zephyreks [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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        1 year ago

        How does that even help India? India is only in this project from a single shipping link - not exactly tightly coupled to this trade corridor.

        Plus, the logistics of loading/unloading mean that trade is going to flow through the Suez anyway.

        • davi [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          1 year ago

          How does that even help India? India is only in this project from a single shipping link - not exactly tightly coupled to this trade corridor.

          Plus, the logistics of loading/unloading mean that trade is going to flow through the Suez anyway.

          it’s not done to help india; it’s done to force india closer into the american & european sphere of influence so that india will be less able to ignore the usa or western europe demands; like the russian sanctions; and it also guarantees that both russia and china will stay as weak as possible by cutting them out of future business plans.

          this whole thing is very cynically smart; i didn’t know any better i would a have guess a lawyer came up with it.

  • Buchenstr [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    Anyone remember global gateway? the European plan to ‘combat’ china? Yet I hear absolutely nothing from it anymore, and that’s europe, the place libs love to praise the amazing infrastructure. Imagine a country like America doing a BRI project lmao.

  • ZapataCadabra [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    Even if Biden made a good faith attempt at a BRI like initiative to develop other countries infrastructure, no sovereign nation in their right mind would take it. Americans cannot plan that far in advance to build their own infrastructure. 2 years after USBRI gets passed into law, the budget for it would get cut in negotiations with the new Congress. 2 years later it would get more budget cuts or get scrapped completely by a new president. Our system does not have the capability to do any sort of long term projects with any efficiency.

  • richietozier4 [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    They’ll probably pay someone to pay someone to pay someone to pay someone to pay someone to build a bridge, then they’ll give up halfway through, give 90% of the money to the board, then ask for more

  • ChapoKrautHaus [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    Americans announce this shit all the time. Nobody’s taking it serious at all, it’s all just cheap words.

    Two data points for your convenience:

    Obama announcing a “new silk road” in 2011 to help distribute the Afghanistan problem onto its neighbors. Nothing came out of it.

    Biden announcing Build Back Better Worldwide to compete with Belt & Road or something. Ask yourself - have you heard anything from that, ever?

    All the West can do is talk shit, do nothing and bomb poor peasants. When China visits, we get a hospital…

    • Vampire [any]@hexbear.netOP
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      1 year ago

      I can’t find a budget for this ‘India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor’ anywhere. Tens of billions? A trillion? Seems they’re not saying.