I think people knew that China were investing, that they looked at it very suspiciously. I remember talking to one woman who said that her brother worked up in the mines. She told me about her brother being scared to put it in quotation marks. The Chinese were taking over and that everything that he could see up there was Chinese. And just because of what we've been talking about, that they've been able to spur these opportunities faster than Hohoy could have hoped for.
As China seeks to grow its economy and increase its global influence, it’s lending billions of dollars to help governments around the world fund big, expensive projects that otherwise would be out of reach. In Asia, Africa–and, notably, in Latin America, next door to the US.
That money could pay off politically, too, in the ongoing rivalry between Washington and Beijing. For a look at China’s global projects–and what its leaders hope to accomplish with them–Rebecca Choong Wilkins joins this episode. She’s a Bloomberg government reporter based in Hong Kong.
We then talk with Jonathan Gilbert, a reporter based in Buenos Aires, who describes what happens when China comes calling with lots of cash. And Dan Ten Kate, who oversees Bloomberg’s government coverage in Asia, stops by to explain why the US has been so slow to respond to China’s advances in the region.
Read more about this story: https://bloom.bg/3ijEYOS
Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK
Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.