From the mid-1850′s to the first world war Great Britain was the world’s
superpower. America was mostly focused on itself and highly isolationist.
In the U.S., there was a civil war fought and reconstruction taking place.
Great Britain was the global titan. Britain send engineers, and capitalists
all over the world developing a global economy. European civilization however,
became so powerful it imploded on itself and went on to 100 years of war against
itself. Imperialism in the British form was gone as they could no longer afford
empire. The article below is a fascinating look into the new imperialism…this
time with Chinese characteristics. When Angola needs a telecommunications system
they don’t ask Europe, they call the Chinese.
Countries across the developing world from Eastern Europe, Africa, and South
America are turning to the Chinese for roads, bridges, sports stadiums,
residential housing, and consumer goods. Even city officials in the United
States are now looking to China to build bridges for them. The iron web of
a Chinese century is being forged as we speak. The article below gives
some insights on the the frontline soldiers of this new empire.
From Shanghai Daily….
AS Chinese companies expand overseas building everything from dams to
telecommunications projects, more young people get opportunities to work abroad,
bank their earnings or send remittances home, writes Song Xiaoli. For ambitious
and adventurous young people, working abroad in a developing country may
initially sound exciting and the salary for professionals can be tempting.
But these are not glamorous jobs – they are largely “hardship” posts in lesser
developed countries where there is profound culture shock and frequent problems
of personal security for foreign workers. Long-term postings (and most are long-term)
create a lot of real-life issues, such as loneliness, managing daily life in a
foreign country where they don’t speak the language, as well as problems in finding
and keeping a girlfriend, long-distance marriage stress, family problems and many
other issues.
Many of them are in the so-called “frontline” of Chinese workers employed by
companies expanding overseas, searching for minerals needed for Chinese industry
and building infrastructure of all kinds needed by the host countries.
Around 5.5 million Chinese workers, both professionals and laborers, are employed
in around 116 countries and regions around the world, according to news reports.
Some are sent by their companies, state-owned or private, or by employment agencies.
In the first six months of the year, 216,000 Chinese were sent to work abroad, up
2.4 percent from a year earlier. “The foreign exchange revenues brought in by sending
workers abroad has surpassed US$4 billion each year and more than 4 million people’s
livelihoods have been improved,” said Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming this month.
China recently has issued regulations calling for greater protections of Chinese
workers overseas.For the past year, Li Yongfeng, a 28-year-old communications engineer,
has been working in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for China Communications Service Co Ltd.
He manages two fiber optics projects. Li, who is a Shanghai native, previously worked
on projects in Nigeria and Nepal and will probably work in developing countries for many
more years, like another 300 overseas staff of the company. Li works on a team with two
other company professionals, trying to support and expand Chinese business overseas.
Last year, Li was praised and honored by his company for his outstanding work. “I feel
very lucky to be encouraged by the company. There are so many things I have to contribute
and improve in the days to come,” he says.
Hard work, long hours
Li works five days a week, nearly 10 hours a day, taking Friday and Saturday off.
To save money, he and his colleagues seldom go out, talking with family member by phone
or Internet, or surf the Internet. “I’ve broken up with three girlfriends because of
the long distance,” Li says. “Now my biggest aim is to dedicate myself to work.”
On a typical day, Li is busy at several places: The main construction site is an hour
from Dhaka, the capital city of more than 16 million people. Sometimes he doesn’t return
home until 3am. Because of security issues, Li and his colleagues usually go out with
one or two other colleagues, in case of sporadic incidents and emergencies.
“These years, many underdeveloped countries face upheavals or riots,” Li says. “It is
true that I am in a funk about this unfamiliar country, and my parents always worry about me.”
In Bangladesh, Chinese are called “foreign people,” and they employ four local staff to
assist the team. Usually one local must accompany a Chinese employee when he goes outside
and needs a translator. Meanwhile, 9,000 kilometers away, Yang Chang and two colleagues
are enduring what they consider “very difficult” life in Luanda, capital city of Angola.
They also work for China Communications Service Co Ltd. Wang, a 26-year-old Shanghainese
administrator, works on telecommunications projects there. He lives with two other Chinese
workers in a Chinese neighborhood, home to around 300 employees of various Chinese companies.
Every day from 7:30am to 11:30pm, the project manager and Yang bustle between different sites,
facing all kinds of inconvenience.
But there are more serious problems.
“The most dangerous experience I had was a robbery at next door. We turned off all the lights
after hearing screams and six shots,” Yang says. Every two days, Yang chats with his parents
over the Internet. Yang and his colleagues buy reasonably priced vegetables from a Chinese-owned
farm – prices charged for Chinese are far higher outside in public markets. Spring onions may
be more expensive than beef in a public market. They seldom go out to eat, even at a buffet,
since the cost per person starts at around US$20. “Cooking has become my only interest here,
” Yang says. The past year has been very difficult for Li and Yang. Apart from homesickness,
they have no local relations or friends and often have to resolve problems that seem beyond
their capacities. Sometimes they need to use their own funds for jobs, and get reimbursed later.
The stories of Li and Yang have been adapted into a four-act stage play by the company staff who
performed it in March at the Shanghai Drama Arts Center. The play focused on problems in finding
a girlfriend and settling down to start a family. “This drama was created and performed by our
staff as a tribute to overseas staff,” says Chen Zhijian, general manager of Shanghai Comservice.
For those Chinese working overseas in Nigeria, however, life isn’t as stressful as it is for Li
and Yang. Li Xiong, a construction worker, lives in the capital Abuja with around 1,000 other
Chinese in a “small city” built by his company, China Civil Engineering Construction Corp.
They live in a fully equipped residential area containing a healthcare center, swimming pool,
dining hall, grocery, entertainment facilities and many other amenities. “The place where we
live is self-contained. It’s unnecessary to go elsewhere. We can buy daily necessities in our
neighborhood,” Li says proudly.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has around 170 million people. The capital Abuja has
around 2.5 million people in its urban area. The country is diverse, containing four major
ethic groups and subgroups estimated to number as many as 40. Chinese works are exposed to
enormous diversity. “Although I am working overseas, I can still feel a sense of belonging.
I am not alone here,” says Li Xiong, a Jiangsu Province native with wife and children back home.
More than 30 years ago, his company began to develop business in West Africa and now is a leader
among Chinese construction companies putting up buildings, railways, light railways and other
infrastructure. “We heard of robberies and kidnappings in Nigeria, especially southern cities,
” Li says. He is currently on a three-week holiday in China. “I cherish holidays to spend time
with my wife and parents.”
Dan did I ever call you ‘the man’?
You are.
Bringing info like this is great.
The Chinese development projects in Angola have been especially fascinating. These are truly interesting times we live in. Perhaps, one day, Americans will take the time to view a “post mortem” regarding our short American century.
Thank you Mr. Collins for another superb perspective!
Thanks guys. While our people collect welfare checks (reported over 100 million) they are living in dorms across the world building out the global infrastructure. This will pay huge dividends in the future for China. There are thousands of Africans learning Chinese. South Americans, Europeans, they all know the shift happening.
America will find itself third rate power shut out of global markets. Dollar collapse will come, we will have nothing to export to pay for our imports….a welfare check won’t support a family. In fact, read today in some states people are paying out 15% of their take home pay on gas alone. Dollar collapse will come… then it will be katy bar the doors.
Dan, the U.S. still has the military industry, and that is not to be underestimated. If the euro zone implodes and the West divides and colonizes China again, then the U.S. will be free to print all it wants and remain at the top.
Hey Keith…Your right for the moment. We have the military and the printing press. But in economics and life in general the iron rule is “There is no free lunch”. No country has ever printed themselves into prosperity. The U.S. currency reserve status will fall gradually just like the British Pound did as it was loosing its reserve currency status.