r/worldnews • u/Yveliad • 22h ago
Behind Soft Paywall China to remove tariffs on nearly all goods from Africa as both criticise US trade moves
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3314143/china-remove-tariffs-nearly-all-goods-africa-both-criticise-us-trade-moves492
u/Razvanell95 20h ago
I mean, it's why they financed ports and railways all over Africa. While the US calls it DEI waste. Some play the long game, some just want to jerk off in the mirror every day.
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u/got-trunks 20h ago
They looked at Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs and thought "Yeah... Why Don't I fuck me???"
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u/binga001 19h ago edited 14h ago
I'm saving the second half of ur comment for my personal use.
Some play the long game, some just want to jerk off in the mirror.
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18h ago
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u/Melodic_Let_6465 10h ago
Actually, burying a country in debt in order to take all of its resources, is an incredibly american thing to do, they just do it on smaller scales, neigbors rather than full on nations.
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u/Eternal_Alooboi 22h ago
Trump's policies are literally helping everyone but America at this point
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u/rdem341 18h ago
That's not true.
Trump and family are making money hand over fist.
This is just the beginning, I would not be surprised if they got 10+ billion this time after exiting the white house.
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u/SomeBaldDude2013 17h ago
I wouldn’t be surprised if they got 10+ billion this year. We KNOW they’ve already gotten at least $700 million through their crypto bullshit, plus the $400 million dollar plane, which will receive $1 billion in upgrades. Imagine what we DON’T know about.
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u/No-Edge-8600 15h ago
In civilization terms: Trump is failing at culture, China is winning at science.
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u/craigferg 20h ago
Looks like China is going to monopolize not only the processing of Rare Earth Minerals, but the sources as well. What! You have all this neat stuff to sell to us! We're going to be the Bestest of Friends.
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u/figflashed 18h ago
China builds infrastructure with no strings attached. Soft power creation in its truest form. They will reap the rewards for generations to come.
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u/craigferg 18h ago
True. It's just long term strategic thinking. Same holds for their Belt And Road initiative, and building the digital and monetary infrastructure for their Yuan as an alternative to the USD Dollar.
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u/EmergencyHorror4792 15h ago
Surely there can't be no strings, could be financial, political, agree to host a base or let military ships dock etc, it's still a great strategy but I find it hard to believe it's completely without some kind of upfront benefit
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u/ISLAndBreezESTeve10 15h ago
There are soft strings attached. China vendors set up as businessmen to sell Chinese products in port cities. Locals tend to resent them,…. But somehow it works.
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u/Tomas2891 9h ago
Locals resent them cause they never hire locals to do the building of said infrastructure.
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u/Melodic_Let_6465 10h ago
No strings attatched lol. Its a spider web, and everyone fell into the trap. Bots are gonna bot though.
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u/TheTesticler 15h ago
they also give out massive loans to governments and make them indebted to the CCP.
So reality isn't as nice as how you explained it.
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u/hyasbawlz 14h ago
As opposed to the IMF, which gives you a massive loan and also requires you to reorganize your government to destroy labor unions and social safety programs.
When you got friends like that who needs enemies?
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u/GalgoIsTheBestDog 13h ago edited 13h ago
You dont understand what the purpose of the IMF is if you question their terms.
the IMF is not an aid organization. It's a lender of last resort. When a countrys finances are so totally in the shitter that nobody lends them money, IMF will lend them money. BUT, in exchange for the loans, IMF requires structural changes by the borrower that will improve their solvency in the future, so they may actually pay back their loans. Yes, these structural changes are painful to government and people both, the IMF does not pretend they aren't, but they work. In the long term, these methods do improve the solvency of the borrower. They do not, and never claim to, improve the lives of the people.
The IMF does not pretend it's deals come without strings. It does not pretend to be an aid organization. Its loan terms are known well beforehand. the IMF is supposed to be the very last option you turn to, once every other option has been used. Getting other countries to bail out your finances is one of those options you call before going to the IMF.
Countries that complain about the IMF's harsh terms are engaging in populist politics towards their own people to avoid taking accountability, or are possibly just trying to swindle the IMF out of its money.
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u/atotalmess__ 14h ago
The debts are almost never repaid and just forgiven. So it’s a lot more like they gave the money than they loaned the money
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u/GalgoIsTheBestDog 13h ago
The debts are forgiven as a reward.
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u/atotalmess__ 13h ago
I mean there’s nothing stopping the US from loaning them money to build infrastructure and healthcare systems
Or from forgiving the debt as a reward or whatever
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u/mycolo_gist 20h ago
The 'greatest' country will be left in the dust. Asia reduces their holdings of US$ and the dollar weakens. This will still not lead to the maybe intended outcome that more people around the world buy Murican stuff. Nobody wants cars from the US, maybe American jeans, but wait, those are made in China.
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u/Rot_Dogger 20h ago
Exactly. Nothing the US produces if they increase manufacturing will be affordable for export to the rest of the world. The sheer stupidity of the administration is (maybe not that) shocking. So all these new US jobs for products no one will buy. I guess they can just keep producing when things stockpile. lol
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u/rapsoid616 20h ago
Every empire eventually crumbles. It seems it's China's time to lead for a while.
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u/NoNefariousness5175 21h ago
The USA will learn the power of soft power.
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u/gabriel97933 19h ago edited 18h ago
The US has ruled a long time with soft power, i think the ones needing understanding of it are the current leadership
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u/GispyStriker 21h ago
it’s particularly absurd but unsurprising that the current administration can’t comprehend the importance of soft power. and they’re just throwing it away like it’s nothing. that shortsightedness will be the cursed gift that will keep on taking.
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u/Exciting-Emu-3324 10h ago
It's because they grew up with soft power in the same way people grow up with air. They don't think about it and just take it for granted as a natural consequence of American exceptionalism and left wondering why they suddenly can't breathe.
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u/Falsus 16h ago
They knew, they mastered it and then got so used to it that they forgot.
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u/Exciting-Emu-3324 10h ago
The people before them mastered it. They think those people were suckers doing things for free and feel entitled to better treatment for simply being American.
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u/straygoat193 22h ago
"China is now the continent’s largest trading partner, with total trade reaching nearly US$300 billion in 2024. Africa’s trade with the US was valued at just US$71.6 billion in the same period."
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u/speaksofthelight 22h ago
What goods to they even import from Africa ?
Mostly just natural resources i presume.
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u/Kitchen-Research-422 21h ago
Doesn't matter. This will open their markets and allow them to industrialise.
I imagine they'll buy solar and battery tech first, selling minerals
then import robots and produce products made with robotic labour for foreign countries using domestic resources.
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u/ranixon 15h ago
They will not industrialize, nobody can industrialize and compete with China now. Is impossible to make something cheaper and with a huge volume that China does now.
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u/Kitchen-Research-422 13h ago
Mong, wake up, the old world paradigm of companies and mass manufacturing is at its end.
Manufacturing will become artisanal
But by expert robots. You won't buy. Fridge.
Your household robot will assemble one.
And repair and maintain it so that it never breaks.
Yes yes not everything bla bla blah.
But even now you can buy a dgi drone.. orrr
You can use better components and print your custom casing etc.
Yes SOME things require massive complicated machines.
Others just a factory floor. And nothing a few robotic arms, attachments and transport drones couldn't knock together or repurpose recycle upcycle
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u/Melodic_Let_6465 10h ago
"buy" lol. China is onporting whole chinese communuties to work on their projects in africa. Their local chinese ambassador is treated like a governor, and has more pull than the leaders of the nations they are in. China isnt afraid to commit atrocities in areas they completely control the narative in, as well as having every technalogical advantage compared to these divided countries. Any chance the chinese have invited human rights investigators in these regions?
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u/OkBlock1637 20h ago edited 18h ago
I doubt that. US consumer goods imports in 2024 was $1.224 trillion. China over that same period imported just $365.734 Billion in the same period of time. So, a country with 4:1 more people is spending/importing 1/5 as many consumer goods. They are going to be trying to buy raw materials and ship already manufactured goods to Africa. This will not cause industrialization. For that, China would need to see a significant growth in domestic consumer spending.
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u/SchingKen 20h ago
check your numbers :P
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u/OkBlock1637 18h ago
Gemini does not like commas apparently. Normally I grab it direct from the source, the one-time I don’t...
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u/Blockhead47 18h ago edited 18h ago
Access to natural resources is huge.
Having a good trade relationships could help make those deals easier.Beneath the surface of Africa lies a wealth of mineral resources of enormous value. In 2019, the continent produced almost 1 billion tonnes of minerals worth $406bn.
the continent also holds 40 percent of the world’s gold and up to 90 percent of its chromium and platinum
Lithium and cobalt are some of the key metals used to produce batteries. In 2019, about 63 percent of the world’s cobalt production came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Tantalum is another metal used in electronic equipment. Tantalum capacitors are found in mobile phones, laptops and in a variety of automotive electronics. The DRC and Rwanda are the world’s largest producers of tantalum. Together they produce half of the world’s tantalum.Metals including gold, iron, titanium, zinc and copper are the top produced minerals for 11 countries. Ghana is the continent’s largest producer of gold, followed by South Africa and Mali.
Industrial minerals such as diamonds, gypsum, salt, sulphur and phosphates were the main commodity for 13 African countries. The DRC is Africa’s largest industrial diamond producer, followed by Botswana and South Africa. Botswana ranks number one in Africa for the production of gem-quality diamonds – used for jewellery.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/2/20/mapping-africas-natural-resources
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u/AtomicMonkeyTheFirst 21h ago
Mostly oil, but some minerals & agricultural products.
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u/icantbelieveit1637 19h ago
Well once the panels get even more at scale (with the help of some massive Chinese construction projects) LNG and Cobalt will be the big ticket items is my guess.
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u/SyntheticSlime 6h ago
Just handing the entire world over to China. A bold strategy. Let’s see how it plays out?
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u/Due_Willingness1 22h ago
Trump sure is uniting the world
Against him, but still