Coronavirus: The world in lockdown in maps and charts - BBC News All the countries in which China claims territory | The Week UK restructured and largely forgiven after the turn of the millennium, Our infographics team prepares current information in a clear and understandable format, Relevant facts covering media, economy, e-commerce, and FMCG topics, Use our newsletter overview to manage the topics that you have subscribed to. Both countries also have a long history of invading other countries. An analysis finds 50% of Chinas loans to developing countries go unreported. Statista offers daily infographics about trending topics, covering:Economy & Finance, Politics & Society, Tech & Media, Health & Environment, Consumer, Sports and many more. Chinese state-owned lenders also typically require borrowers to maintain a minimum cash balance in an offshore account to which the lender has access. IE 11 is not supported. And, third, forecasters of global economic activity who are unaware of surges and stops of Chinese lending miss an important swing factor influencing aggregate global demand. This gap in perceptions is largest in Australia, where more than three times as many say Chinas influence is growing than say the same about American influence (73% vs. 19%). As early as the 1970s, countries began to claim islands and various . . Africans will continue to move westward and northward by the millions. So who is really stuck in a debt trap? In June last year, Malaysia summoned Chinas ambassador after 16 military aircraft flew over disputed waters off its eastern state of Sarawak. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main by John Richardson Against this backdrop, much more work is needed to analyze the characteristics and potential impact of Chinas lending around the world. Our standard is 660 pixels, but you can customize how the statistic is displayed to suit your site by setting the width and the display size. In Australia, the Netherlands and Sweden, for example, younger people have much less positive views of the U.S. than older people do. Coastal beaches and shoaly lands: ~12,700 km 2. In 2018 alone, China acquired over 20 deep water and air ports from several countries around the world. The Communist nation is known to have border disputes with as many as 18 countries. Currently, only 13 countries (plus the Vatican) recognise Taiwan as a sovereign country. They want to eat and they want infrastructure. In about a third of the places surveyed, more educated people are also more likely to say that U.S. influence is getting weaker. How the West Is Helping Train China's Military. "If a borrower fails to repay its debt," says Brad Parks, Executive Director of AidData, "China can simply debit funds from [this] account without having to collect on bad debt through a judicial process.". A median of 66% across 19 countries say China's influence on the world stage is getting stronger, while just 32% say the same about the U.S. Many Chinese state developments loans also demand unusual forms of collateral. Longer submissions are unlikely to be published. In total, the Chinese state and its subsidiaries have lent about $1.5 trillion in direct loans and trade credits to more than 150 countries around the globe. China-North Korea relations can be described as complicated at best. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Other official entities, such as the World Bank, typically lend at concessional, below-market interest rates, and longer maturities. BEIJING Size isn't everything it's what you do with it that counts. As a result, private investors and other competing creditors may underestimate the risk of default on their claims. South Korea is the only place surveyed where younger people have more negative views of China and more positive views of the U.S. than their older counterparts. Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, China has granted or loaned money to 13,427 infrastructure projects, China debt dogs Maldives' 'bridge to prosperity', 'We don't like our land being given away to China', Serena Williams announces pregnancy at Met Gala, Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media, Met Gala 2023: Stars celebrate Karl Lagerfeld, New record as 4.56m Indians take flights in a day, Japan to ban upskirting in stronger sex crime laws, Palestinian hunger striker dies in Israel prison. China once tried to check its population growth with the now defunct one-child policy. China is taking over Zambia's National Assets, but the Nightmare is The western media are constantly blaming Europe's and the US policies in Africa as "racist" "neocolonialist" "ill-advised" "self-serving" etc with hardly a word on China's actions on that continent. "Chinese FDI flows to Africa have exceeded those from the U.S. since 2013, as U.S. FDI flows have generally been declining since 2010," according to the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. The Times of India newspaper described this as "a ticking social bomb" in an editorial reacting to the population news. India may have overtaken China in total population, but UN data also shows that its growth rate has slowed. Despite that, there's little doubt China's economic involvement in Sri Lanka has grown in the past decade, and concerns persist that this could be used to advance its political ambitions in the region. The document claimed China has been trespassing in the district of Humla, in the far west of Nepal. Video, 00:02:36What is China's One Belt, One Road? Between 2007 and 2020, China invested $23 billion in infrastructure projects in Africa, according to the Center for Global Development, a US think tank. How Much Money Does the World Owe China? - Harvard Business Review Already in May 2021, Townsend had warned that China was overtaking America in Africa: "The Chinese are outmaneuvering the U.S. in select countries in Africa. The prominent countries with whom China is involved in severe disputes apart from India are Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines and Japan. In both instances, the Chinese invaders were defeated with the help of the kamikaze, "divine winds" of typhoons that destroyed the ships of the Chinese invaders. "Our competitors clearly see Africa's rich potential. To find out more, please review our Privacy and Cookies Policy. But while many more continue to have confidence in Biden, positive views of his leadership have taken a downward turn in the past year, falling by double digits in nearly every country surveyed. China and Japan have repeatedly clashed over a group of uninhabited islands called the Senkaku Islands in Tokyo, the Diaoyu Islands in Beijing and theTiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan. For some years, Beijing has been aggravating tensions by increasing the presence of China Coast Guard vessels in the contiguous zone of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, The Diplomat said. China Merchants, founded as a patriotic enterprise in 1872 to attract Chinese capital to take on Western shipping lines, manages 36 ports in 18 countries. But even then, about 90% of the $100 billion (in todays dollars) spent in Europe comprised grants and aid. A 1962 border treaty split the islands according to which ethnic group wereliving on each island. In most countries, people on the ideological right and left feel similarly about China. In March alone, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held bilateral talks with his African counterparts in Algeria, Egypt, The Gambia, Niger, Somalia, Tanzania and Zambia. That's because central government institutions aren't named in a lot of the deals struck by Chinese state banks, keeping such deals off government balance sheets and hidden by confidentiality clauses that can prevent governments from knowing exactly what has been agreed behind closed doors. All rights reserved. It is unclear why the report has not yet been published by the Nepalese government, the BBC said. In an interview with the BBC, Richard Moore, the head of Britain's foreign intelligence agency MI6, said China uses what he called "debt traps" to gain leverage over other countries. proper attribution to Statista. China's lending to other countries jumps, causing 'hidden' debt - CNBC China's economic and diplomatic engagements allow it to buttress autocracies and change international norms in a patient effort to claim their second continent." China and India are the world's population behemoths but their demographics are very different. One of Laos' few sources of profit, the proceeds of its potash mines, were used to back the massive loan. This control threatens the ability of U.S. companies to access key supplies.". Since the 1980s, the two governments have conducted regular talks on border and security issues aimed at reducing tensions. When publishing one of these graphics, China's growing role in international finance has remained obscure, mostly due to a lack of data and transparency. The countries fought a bloody border war in 1962, ending in a ceasefire that established the Line of Actual Control, Newsweek added. In 19 countries surveyed by Pew Research Center this spring, people see the United States and President Joe Biden more favorably than China and its president, Xi Jinping. China Taking Over Africa: 'China's Second Continent' - Gatestone Institute In South Korea, 89% have a favorable view of the U.S., 70 percentage points more than the 19% who say the same of China. But there are no cases, among the hundreds of loan arrangements studied by AidData and some other researchers, of Chinese state-owned lenders actually seizing a major asset in the event of a loan default. Assessing repayment burdens and financial risks requires detailed knowledge on all outstanding debt instruments. Most African nations do not act like western nations when it comes to repaying external debt. In 1950, China enforced a long-held claim on the Himalayan country and incorporated it with its own territory. "Beijing uses its influence in Africa to gain preferential access to Africa's natural resources, open up markets for Chinese exports, and enlist African support for Chinese diplomatic priorities on and beyond the continent.". Most Chinese loans have helped finance large-scale investments in infrastructure, energy, and mining. "Beijing has long viewed African countries as occupying a central position in its efforts to increase China's global influence and revise the international order," the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission wrote in its 2020 Report to Congress. AI chatbots 'may soon be more intelligent than us', Russia troop deaths hit 20,000 in five months - US, BP profits of 4bn in three months spark criticism, The 17 most eye-catching looks at the Met Gala, The burden of being cricket legend Tendulkar's son, 'My wife and six children joined Kenya starvation cult', On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. China was able to do so by lending those countries massive amounts of money they can never repay. We compiled data from hundreds of primary and secondary sources, put together by academic institutions, think tanks, and government agencies (including historical information from the Central Intelligence Agency). 30 APRIL 2023 | NEWS OF THE WEEK - Facebook Which topics are covered by the "Chart of the Day"? "Confidentiality agreements are very common in international commercial loans", says Professor Lee Jones at Queen Mary University of London. Has China invaded or conquered another country? Yes. Both Imperial The white population are being dealt a bad hand in South Africa.Very few are expressing any concern about them even less doing anything about it. On the streets of Beijing, the mood was similar. In the absence of a serious coordinated international effort, China will go on to fill that infrastructure gap, as it continues to consolidate its influence in Africa while the US lags behind. In both countries, the share who see China positively is 16 points greater than the share who see the U.S. in the same light. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax General Stephen Townsend, Commander of United States Africa Command, Senate Armed Services Committee, March 15, 2022. On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. It is estimated that 12 percent of Africa industrial production, or $500 billion annuallynearly. Finally, in 2017, Sri Lanka agreed to give state-owned China Merchants a controlling 70% stake in the port on a 99-year lease in return for further Chinese investment. China is now Africa's largest trade partner. How many World Bank loans or IMF loans have African nations defaulted on or better yet how many of these loans have been fully paid back without being refinanced by more WB or IMF loans? However, China's overall lending commitments are likely to be significantly greater than these figures suggest. Note: Here are the questions used in this report, along with their responses, as well as its methodology. What are 'debt traps' and what's the evidence for them? Only 2.2% of workers between the ages of 15 and 59 have received formal vocational training, according to government figures. Failing to account for these hidden debts to China distorts the views of the official and private sectors in three material ways. The hostility, which triggered an angry protest from Manila, was the latest flare-up in the South China Sea, with China claiming virtually the entire waterway and transforming seven disputed shoals into missile-protected island bases. Just this week China was accused of encroaching on Nepals territory along the two countries shared border. 2) Private sectors will misprice debt contracts, such as sovereign bonds, if they fail to grasp the true scope of a governments debts a problem thats compounded by the collateral clauses in many Chinese official loans, meaning that China will get preferential treatment when it comes to repayments. China grows its military while we worry about diversity, inclusion and the proper fit of pregnancy uniforms. The two countries are sparring over the Scarborough Reef and the Spratly Islands. How China Will Take Over The World - Forbes After the Ukraine conflict has been stabilized and Putin has been forced out of power (eliminated) Russia will be reduced to a second rate power at best (with nuclear weapons) with only its petroleum products to sell to Europe. Whether such a process will be available for Chinese debt is unclear. The Week is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. To China, being the most populous nation "doesnt count for anything" in and of itself, he told NBC News in an email. Everyone who took part in the U.S. survey is a member of the Centers American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. As a result, nations facing financial strains can turn to China before the international financial institutions, including the IMF. Their setup is closer to commercial loans concerning their conditions of repayment, confidentiality as well as their objectives of funding specific infrastructure projects instead of pursuing development goals in general. This has led to its dispute with several countries, such as Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, India, South Korea, North Korea, Singapore, Brunei, Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia and Myanmar. "Population does not equal national power," said Zhang Han, 29, a business student from the eastern province of Shandong. Please limit comments to 300 words or less. North Korea has 127 and China 78, but due to the division criteria, some islands belong to North Korea even though they are on the Chinese side of the river. In June 2020, soldiers clashed in hand-to-hand combat as a border dispute threatened the uneasy truce between the worlds most populous nations. It argues that such confidentiality is common practice for international loan contracts. The rest might come later, if ever. And this is all before the railway has even begun operations. "[That is] income for these very poor countries, dollars and euros, to lock those up in an offshore account that's controlled by a foreign power. Creative writing classes for kids and teens Young Writers' Hangout on May 11, 18, 25 (1:30 pm-3pm; stand-alone sessions) at . This inaction means that in the emerging US-China rivalry in Africa, China is far ahead. In another South China Sea dispute, China and Vietnam have long faced maritime territorial disputes over the Spratly Islands and the Paracel Islands, said the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a US-based think tank. China has illegally occupied a 38,000 sq km of India's land in Aksai Chin. Behind China's Takeover of Hong Kong - The New York Times Another South China Sea dispute. Now it's desperately trying to arrest a falling birthrate that means that as in many Western countries a shrinking young population will struggle to support a growing number of retirees. Second, the private sector will misprice debt contracts, such as sovereign bonds, if it fails to grasp the true scope of debts that a government owes. ", Retired teacher Liu Quan, 57, said he doesn't care about the population news at all. But when we asked the World Bank for a breakdown by country, it said it could not share the information. Across most countries surveyed, more educated people are more likely to say Chinas power is growing. Read about our approach to external linking. The West is making the same mistake with them as it did with the "Arab Spring". Yes, Statista allows the easy integration of many infographics on other websites. (Image source: U.S. Africa Command Public Relations). That is reportedly "$8 billion more than the other top eight lenders combined". China shares a contiguous border of 292 miles with Bhutan and territorial disputes have been a source of potential conflict. The area is also close to key shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds. One such case was Sri Lanka - also among Chinas biggest debtors - which in 2022 was the first Asian country in two decades to default on its debt. Looking ahead, we find that credit outflows from China have slowed markedly since 2015, in parallel to Chinas ongoing domestic economic slowdown. There are now more than 40 low and middle-income countries, according to AidData, whose debt exposure to Chinese lenders is more than 10% of the size of their annual economic output (GDP) as a result of this "hidden debt". Need infographics, animated videos, presentations, data research or social media charts? non-commercial websites. Views of Biden remain much more positive than views of Xi. . The Statista "Chart of the Day" currently focuses Central bank swap lines can be understood as standing lines of credit, where central banks agree on exchanging their currencies to facilitate trade settlements and to address liquidity needs. Drilling began last year near the Natuna islands within Indonesias exclusive economic zone, the site added. But prominent voices in China . What is China going to do, take these corrupt debtor countries to the World Court in an effort to collect? All rights reserved. Gatestone Institute is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, Federal Tax ID #454724565. BRI aims to build an economic and infrastructure network connecting China with Europe, Africa and beyond, and has already strengthened China's global influence from East Asia to Europe by making countries worldwide increasingly dependent on China. Start your free trial, French say coronation quiche is nothing but a savoury tart, Ukrainian grain: rousing the fury of east Europes farmers, Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 2 May 2023, New TV crime dramas and older shows to binge, What the One China principle means for future of Taiwan, High drama: India and China brawl in the Himalayas, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, most well-known of Chinas territorial disputes. This Pew Research Center analysis focuses on public opinion of the United States and China in 19 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. "China continues to gain strength while we are led by weaklings. China has become a big lender to poorer countries, and there's been criticism of its approach. "China is dependent on Africa for imports of fossil fuels and commodities Beijing has increased its control of African commodities through strategic direct investment in oil fields, mines, and production facilities, as well as through resource-backed loans that call for in-kind payments of commodities. New data this week said that China will soon no longer be the world's most populous country. AidData says China remains the financier of first resort for many low and middle income countries. Every major world power has strategic interests in Africa but no western power has been able to have its way for long on this continent, that is why all the colonial powers abandoned it. That lending cycle ended badly once commodity prices and economic growth slumped, and dozens of developing countries went into default during the bust that followed. Despite the large size of Chinas overseas lending boom, no official data exists on the resulting debt flows and stocks. please include a backlink to the respective infographic URL. How does China's lending compare with others? But this does not comprehend the severity of the situation Africa finds itself. "The U.S. and Japan have smaller populations, but it doesnt mean theyre not strong powers. Until 1986, the total territory (or under control) of the PRC was 10.45 million km 2, including: [1] Continental mainland: ~9.60 million km 2. The population is important, so is talent, he told a daily briefing this week. Because the West is NOT offering what these countries really need (same happens with Latin America btw). Workers in Jiangsu province, seen here producing equipment for export along China's Belt and Road, The Yumo railway will link China and Laos - but experts say Laos will struggle to pay back the debt, President Xi has sought to reassure others after criticism of China's global infrastructure projects, What is China's One Belt, One Road? The unreported lending from China has grown to more than $200 billion USD as of 2016. At around 4%, these loans are close to commercial market rates and about four times that of a typical loan from the World Bank or an individual country such as France or Germany. Debtor countries themselves often do not collect data on debt owed by state-owned companies, which are the main recipients of Chinese loans. which opened a debt-laden railway line to China last year. Their disagreements centre on 205 islands on the YaluRiver, which runs on the border between the two nations. But when it comes to perceptions of each countrys relative influence in the world, much larger shares in most nations see Chinas influence growing than say the same of the U.S. Below are five key findings comparing international attitudes toward the two countries, drawn from nationally representative surveys conducted from Feb. 14 to June 3, 2022, among 24,525 adults in 19 nations. Since 2013 a Chinese Coast Guard ship has been stationed near Luconia Breakers, an area about 80 nautical miles north of Sarawak. 2023 BBC. Last month Voice of America reported that Beijing had begun construction of villages and settlements along its Himalayan borders. BRI projects were more likely to be associated with corruption, labour scandals or environmental issues than other Chinese development deals. In the 15th century, China occupied Vietnam from 1407 to 1427. They found thatChina tends to lend at market terms, meaning at interest rates that are close to those in private capital markets, rather than the concessional rates offered by other official entities, such as the World Bank or IMF. As the new preferred lender to low-income countries, China held 37 percent of these nations' debt in 2020. According to World Bank data analyzed by Statista. Africa is important to China for several reasons. Russia and China both seek to convert soft and hard power investments into political influence, strategic access, and military advantage." General Stephen Townsend, Commander of United States Africa Command. How will China collect the debt? It is beyond comprehension how come the West has remained indifferent and overlooked the sinister colonization model China is building in Africa. The Covid-19 pandemic has complicated the already difficult repayment of Chinese loans even more. China is making substantial investment in ports and pipelines worldwide "We just want peace" between the quarreling neighbors, he said. Excellent analysis of the Biden administration's fiscal management principle: Squander the multiple trillions of borrowed money. This gap in perceptions is largest in Australia, where more than three times as many say China's influence is growing than say the same about American influence (73% vs. 19%). Why China Is Taking over Africa's Resources One Country at a Time Djibouti, Laos, Zambia and Kyrgyzstan have debts to China equivalent to at least 20% of their annual GDP. At the same time, however, there are no countries where more than half say U.S. influence is weakening, either. Speaking to the broadcaster in 2019, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said that he did not think an all-out confrontation involving Singapore will take place, explaining: All the parties involved recognize that the price is too high and the issues in the South China Sea do not warrant an actual physical confrontation.. Much of this money is linked to Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious Belt and Road strategy. China: Big spender or loan shark? - BBC News Our research, based on a comprehensive new data set, shows that China has extended many more loans to developing countries than previously known. And that's news even to Chinese officials themselves. Laos is one of the poorest countries in the region and couldn't afford even a fraction of the cost. The U.S. is also seen substantially more positively than China in Japan (+58 points) and Australia (+40 points). "And much of China's development financing is fundamentally a commercial operation.". Is climate change killing Australian wine? More countries have opted to take the strictest measures possible to contain it. Ukraine war latest: 'Explosion derails train' in Russia - Sky News Different G7 partners will have different geographic orientations, but the sum of the initiative will cover low- and middle-income countries across the world.". The talks came only two months after Wang Yi visited Eritrea, Kenya and Comoros. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Pictured: Townsend (center) reviews an honor guard of the of the Djiboutian Armed Forces with Lt. Gen. Zakaria Cheikh Ibrahim, Djiboutian chief of staff, in Djibouti City on August 8, 2019.