While President Trump plays high stakes poker with China in the trade war, Beijing is quietly taking over two continents — Africa and Latin America.
In Latin America, the Chinese candidate for secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert Ramdin, was elected last month by the 35 nation bloc with the strong support of the leftwing Latin countries: Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile. And, just this week, Laura Gil of Colombia was named as Ramdin’s deputy.
Laura Gil, a purportedly left-wing lawyer, will solidify Chinese control of the Organization of American States.
And, in Africa, China has virtually driven America off the continent — Out of Africa, as it were. The Chinese Yuan has replaced the U.S. dollar as the primary currency in cross-border transactions, the three largest African economies — Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa — have all jointed the anti-American BRICS bloc.
Additionally, China has built a mega-port in Chancay, Peru that is "expected to upend current shipping patterns and transform global trade for years to come" at a cost of $1 billion.
The U.S. did nothing to stop the Ramadan-Gil OAS takeover and is sitting passively by as China kicks the dollar off the continent.
How is Beijing getting away with it?
Trump is distracted and focused on the big picture of U.S.-China trade relations while China picks up the pieces.
Trump knows that he can reassert control of the OAS whenever he gets around to it and realizes that Africa is a total mess, with China waging the most influence in allegedly corrupt regimes, on the continent.
So he doesn’t take the inroads China is making as seriously as he should.
China is using its "belt and road" initiative to lend money to Latin American regimes using the rare earth minerals on the continent as collateral.
When the regimes don’t pay China back (and deposit the Chinese money in their Swiss bank accounts), China can seize the mineral wealth and walk away.
Trump needs to pay attention to China’s game and stop Beijing with making off with the entire Southern Hemisphere.
He needs to get the dollar back in play in Africa by helping American firms to take over defunct colonial British, French, and Portuguese banks and use them to restore dollar hegemony.
In Latin America, he needs to threaten to cut off U.S. funding of the OAS unless Gil is fired and replaced with a candidate acceptable to Washington.
Trump must not let Beijing steal Africa and Latin America when he’s not looking.
(A related article may be found here and here.)
Dick Morris is a former presidential adviser and political strategist. He is a regular contributor to Newsmax TV. Read Dick Morris' Reports — More Here.