• remotelove
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    11 days ago

    Chad has some decent gold fields. They aren’t the biggest the world, but they are substantial enough to draw attention. The cheap labor and zero environmental regulation is a value multiplyer as well.

    When you add a little flavor the to pot by destabilizing the country and giving the west a bit of a headache, it’s now even more attractive.

    • PugJesus@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      When you add a little flavor the to pot by destabilizing the country

      Ha. Well, that’s exactly the problem, though, isn’t it? Many countries in Africa are resource-rich, but instability makes them less appealing for investment. There’s a reason that Botswana, for example, which is stable and resource-rich, hasn’t taken major Chinese loans - it hasn’t needed an alternate source, because it can prove a certain degree of stability.

      • remotelove
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        11 days ago

        Oh. When I said “the west” I was squarely pointing the finger at France. China is playing the longer game there because Russia has stationed Wagner down there already. It benefits both Russia and China if the population is focused on removing French influence. China gets a long term investment hedge against France and Russia gets more cheap mercs for Ukraine.

        Now, I don’t really want to spend much time doing a full research project on what is basically a game of thrones’ish style side bet. It’s insanely complicated, I would imagine. After a few African countries went full-on coup d’état a few months ago, I realized there was much more going on.

        Edit: I wasn’t downvoting you. I suspect that some people might be trying to launch some instability of their own. Lulz.

        • PugJesus@lemmy.world
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          11 days ago

          Edit: I wasn’t downvoting you. I suspect that some people might be trying to launch some instability of their own. Lulz.

          Oh, I didn’t assume you were. I assumed there are just some wumaos getting upset that China’s boots aren’t being unconditionally licked.