Economic imperialism is how much of the western world has built empires and influence without military action. Those wishing to control, and who have the economic means to do so, offer the other party something that looks to be of mutual benefit - a new road, a Venezuelan oil refinery, a new port, etc in return for loan repayments and project sovereignty. So, the big econony offers the finance, runs the projects, goes out to tender, uses one of their own big employers so that taxes come back to them, and build something for the smaller economy that saddles them with debt that is barely able to be repayed. A failure to repay the debt will tank that countries ability to secure finance on the global market. You can offer them reduced repayments, demand extra investment opportunities, or take cuts of other income streams as a method of payment.
The US has been doing this for a long time. Its one of the reasons why many South American and African nations have issues with the US. Chinas Belt and Road initiative is no different. Its economic imperialism dressed up with lipstick. The question is, what will they eventually demand in return? I suspect the most likely answer is "land".
The US has been doing this for a long time. Its one of the reasons why many South American and African nations have issues with the US. Chinas Belt and Road initiative is no different. Its economic imperialism dressed up with lipstick. The question is, what will they eventually demand in return? I suspect the most likely answer is "land".