China’s Colossal Plan to Dominate Global Trade

Gwadar is very close to the ‘Strait of Hormuz’ which is the only strait in the Middle East. We all know what the middle-east is famous for, right? OIL! Due to this port in Gwadar and a network of railway tracks between China and the Gulf countries, Oil can be transported effortlessly without much risk. Adding on to this, The Strait of Hormuz which is called as the “Jugular of the Global Economy” as more than 20% of the global oil is transported through this will become unimportant. China controlling more than 20% of the global oil trade? Believe it or not it’s going to become a reality soon! This can also be a solution to the US-Iran conflict.

Apart from this China is criticized for its BRI projects in Africa where it established its military base and a seaport in Djibouti reflecting its aggression along the BRI. China provides about $5 billion per year in the name of infrastructural development to Africa but figures reveal that more than 25% of the country’s debt is held by China Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of China and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which are government-owned banks of China.

China has also drawn a lot of criticism as it is affiliated with corrupt countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen – all of them currently splintered by conflicts. Apart from this, the BRI is considered to be a very risky project as China loans money to unreliable countries. Eventually, the countries have to repay the loan to China. But corruption and conflict make that repayment unlikely. So why does China keep lending money to such countries? Because there is more to the BRI than just economics. If the Country is unable to repay the loan, they hand over the rights of a particular project / land to China (like the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka) as a lease for a long period of time quid-pro-quo.

Also, China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. So, what does it have? VETO power! Thus, any resolution which might create a hindrance to China’s BRI can be dealt with (Else, wouldn’t India be a permanent member of UNSC by now?). Amidst the US-China Trade War, The South China Sea Conflict and its involvement in the Kashmir Issue (Gilgit-Baltistan), can China actually pull this off and dominate the global trade? After taking into consideration China’s recent entry in Balkans and into Malaysia I strongly believe that China would stop at no point to get what they want. But China must either institutionalize the BRI, so that it’s not entirely Chinese-led or we must stop China and prevent the BRI in order to avoid a dictatorship in the global trade market.

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