What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence • Hacker News Board

Re: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence

#41

Post by api » Mon, Sep 18, 2017, 3:57 AM UTC

maxxxxx wrote: post #22

themgt wrote: post #7

As the United States beats a haphazard retreat from the world — nixing trade agreements, eschewing diplomacy, antagonizing allies — China marches on with its unabashedly ambitious global-expansion program known as One Belt, One Road. This constant MSM need to connect everything on earth back to Trump is getting so fucking tedious. Construction of the airport this article concerns was finished (edit: begun) in 2009. I…

Eschewing diplomacy and antagonizing allies started with Bush after 9/11 and the build up for the Iraq war.

Bush II is still easily the worst president of the last 100 years, at least. Trump has yet to come close to the Iraq disaster, though he has at least 3 more years so who knows. Obama wasn't bad but his problem was that he governed as if the country were not in decline. He was a prosperous times president when we needed a turnaround artist.

Re: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence

#42

Post by rgbrenner » Mon, Sep 18, 2017, 4:01 AM UTC

virtuabhi wrote: post #13

"Over all, around 90 percent of the country’s revenues goes to servicing debt. Even a new president who took office in 2015 on a promise to curb Chinese influence succumbed to financial reality." 90% of Sri Lanka's revenues goes to servicing Chinese debt? I find this hard to believe. Any references?

not to china.. total:

http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/01/24/sri-lankan-governmen...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2016/09/30/sri-lank...

http://newsfirst.lk/english/2016/07/failed-large-scale-proje...

Re: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence

#43

Post by nl » Mon, Sep 18, 2017, 4:08 AM UTC

airbookie2 wrote: post #2

It says nothing about China's influence. It just means China likes to throw good money after the bad. Just look at the loans it made to Cambodia, Nigeria, Iran, etc http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/21P46wlPXj00K8VUKMu9oN/China...

It's not good money after bad if China isn't in it for making a monetary profit.

Re: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence

#44

Post by nostrademons » Mon, Sep 18, 2017, 4:25 AM UTC

tuna-piano wrote: post #9

I assume another close contender is the Nay Pyi Taw airport in Myanmar. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXvqis0htxH/?taken-at=277450644 https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/277450644/naypyi... The city was built as a showcase capital for Myanmar's military government, and has crazy sights like a 20 lane highway (with almost no cars): https://www.go-myanmar.com/sites/go-myanmar.com/files/upload... More pictures: ht…

It's interesting to contrast that with the story of Ordos Kangbashi, Inner Mongolia:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/06/30/ordos-ch...

I'd first heard of that a couple years ago and shook my head at all the wasteful misallocation of capital. Ordos recently appeared in the news again, but instead of an empty ghost town - it's apparently a thriving metropolis, center of the worldwide Bitcoin mining industry.

Capitalism is remarkably effective at redirecting misallocated capital into productive uses. The original builders go bankrupt, and it sucks for them, but usually an enterprising firm picks up the assets at fire-sale prices and does something interesting with them.

Re: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence

#45

Post by fludlight » Mon, Sep 18, 2017, 5:35 AM UTC

princeb wrote: post #10

A number of Chinese businesses are setting up 100%-Chinese factory compounds overseas. These compounds are located in a foreign country, but they are fully financed by Chinese, built by Chinese, employ only Chinese, have accommodation for the Chinese employees, have a completely sustaining internal economy where employees can buy food and entertainment and send mail, posts, banking, remittance, insurance, through Chi…

This strategy is just as transparent as it sounds. Eventually US/EU regulators will find out and shut it down. A similar thing recently played out when a Chinese company owned by the son of a major Chinese aluminum smelting magnate tried to cross ship about a ridiculous quantity of aluminum through Mexico. In this case, certain rules may need to be amended, but that is not outside the realm of possibility.

> But concentration of manufacturing know-how remains in China.

The US and EU had a monopoly on manufacturing know how for all sort of things until some executives voluntarily transferred that to the (then) third world in order to maximize short term profits. Their successors have spent the last decade shifting semiconductor production from China to lower cost countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Re: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence

#46

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Sep 18, 2017, 5:38 AM UTC

tuna-piano wrote: post #9

I assume another close contender is the Nay Pyi Taw airport in Myanmar. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXvqis0htxH/?taken-at=277450644 https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/277450644/naypyi... The city was built as a showcase capital for Myanmar's military government, and has crazy sights like a 20 lane highway (with almost no cars): https://www.go-myanmar.com/sites/go-myanmar.com/files/upload... More pictures: ht…

[deleted]

Re: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence

#47

Post by throwaway178614 » Mon, Sep 18, 2017, 5:44 AM UTC

It's very striking, how China's endeavors mimic those from the US's past and ongoing geopolitical stratagems.

US's game so far has been to sell overpriced white elephants to countries in the Middle East, East Asia and South America. This has benefited in the process, a few "bent" middle men, resulted in a massive transfer of wealth from the US Fed to a few select infrastructure/defense firms in the US, all while indebting generations of impoverished people to the whims of the American retainers in WTO/IMF etc.

Inevitably, these countries become the hubs for slave labor under US based corporations, which reap massive profits while paying pennies on the dollar.

... and they say slavery is dead.

It's a pity that China appears determined to follow a similar policy. I find it amusing that the article almost seems to gloat "China is following the Great Britain model. These outdated chinks have no idea how to run an empire in the modern era!".

The world is a very depressing place. Welcome to the Borg.

Re: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence

#48

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Sep 18, 2017, 5:48 AM UTC

jpatokal wrote: post #34

One thing worth noting is that, with a theoretical max capacity on only 1 million, this airport would actually be pretty tiny by world standards. (The largest do >100m, and even Colombo Airport pulls in nearly 10m.) By comparison, another famous white elephant airport, Ciudad Real in Spain, was built for 10m and currently serves precisely zero. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciudad_Real_Central_Airport

[deleted]

Re: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence

#49

Post by icantdrive55 » Mon, Sep 18, 2017, 6:13 AM UTC

robbiep wrote: post #39

hyperdunc wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China does a similar thing with agriculture. Huge plots of land in Australia and New Zealand are controlled by Chinese farming companies and staffed by Chinese. All the food they produce goes back to China.

It is not true that they mainly (or even significantly) employ chinese on Australian Farms - these farms are generally managed by the previous owners or managers and staffed by Australians, with australian Agronomists. In actual fact, very little changes on a day to day basis, except there is more funds available for infrastructure and capital goods purchase (and property values are driven up). Which, when you think…

Unless the farm buyer is a citizen of Australia, doesn't it bother the average citizen that foreigners can buy businesses, and property?

Plus--doesn't Australia worry about nutrient depletion of their farm lands for food sent overseas? Once those nutrients are gone; they are stuck with buying nutrients/fertilizer forever. Plus--it's an island, with I imagine limited farming land?)

Yes, in the USA we let anyone basically buy our land too. Want a house--just pick up the tele. I don't feel it's right.

I'll probally get hammered for this post, but I just don't get it.

Plus--we can't own squat in most of these emerging countries.

Re: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence

#50

Post by vikiomega9 » Mon, Sep 18, 2017, 6:14 AM UTC

nostrademons wrote: post #44

tuna-piano wrote: post #9

I assume another close contender is the Nay Pyi Taw airport in Myanmar. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXvqis0htxH/?taken-at=277450644 https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/277450644/naypyi... The city was built as a showcase capital for Myanmar's military government, and has crazy sights like a 20 lane highway (with almost no cars): https://www.go-myanmar.com/sites/go-myanmar.com/files/upload... More pictures: ht…

It's interesting to contrast that with the story of Ordos Kangbashi, Inner Mongolia: https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/06/30/ordos-ch... I'd first heard of that a couple years ago and shook my head at all the wasteful misallocation of capital. Ordos recently appeared in the news again, but instead of an empty ghost town - it's apparently a thriving metropolis, center of the worldwide Bitcoin mining indust…

Like the article points out your head shaking is because of the original reporting?

I also wonder if your point about assets is not necessarily always true and that you're only thinking examples that became interesting. By definition the bar is pretty low for such assets regardless of who scraps up the remains.