Kevin Gallagher
Appearances
WSJ What’s News
How China’s Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Bet Undercuts U.S. Dominance
The first movers on all this are what we in the West call development banks. The China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China, right, these are national, what China calls policy banks. They're not looking to get a big private rate of return. They're looking to cover costs, but to literally sort of pave the way so that on more commercial terms, their private firms can get in there.
WSJ What’s News
How China’s Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Bet Undercuts U.S. Dominance
These development banks were spraying money all over the place, but they weren't looking to make the huge profits. China has more of a portfolio approach. If I'm going to make a development bank loan in a particular country, and that's going to secure more imports and secure more market share for my firms when they move there, it's well worth that subsidy through the development bank.
WSJ What’s News
How China’s Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Bet Undercuts U.S. Dominance
One of the things that make countries choose the Chinese over the World Bank is sometimes you propose a project to the World Bank, it can take 24 months to actually get there. I once talked to a finance ministry in a particular country, and after they cut their first deal with the Chinese, they were shocked when they said, OK, guys, thanks so much for the loan.
WSJ What’s News
How China’s Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Bet Undercuts U.S. Dominance
I guess we'll see you in about 24 months. And the Chinese said, what are you talking about? It's 11 o'clock. I got my shovels in the truck.
WSJ What’s News
How China’s Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Bet Undercuts U.S. Dominance
You can see an increasing and sort of solidified share of Chinese firms just about everywhere you go in the world.
WSJ What’s News
How China’s Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Bet Undercuts U.S. Dominance
The World Bank came out with its international debt statistics, and they say the countries in the global south are on the brink of another global debt crisis, and countries are having a difficult time paying back Standard Charter in New York and paying back the Chinese in Beijing. And so this would be the time, right?
WSJ What’s News
How China’s Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Bet Undercuts U.S. Dominance
This would be the time where China would just be going around and grabbing all these goodies around the world, but that's not happening at all.