The Chinese communist regime doubled down on its efforts to financially favor pro-China nations that sent heads of state to the Games and met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in person. Experts call the recent move a sign of bribery diplomacy.
Within the first three days of the Games, Xi had talks with foreign leaders from more than 20 countries and granted them purchase contracts worth billions of dollars or other assistance programs.
Xi signed nearly 20 gas and oil contracts worth an estimated $117.5 billion with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 4, the opening day of the Games.
On the following day, Xi met with five presidents from central Asian countries, including Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, and Turkmen, among others. Ten days prior to the face-to-face meeting, Xi talked to them via video link and announced that China would render $500 million worth of assistance gratis to the five countries in the next three years for new utility projects in celebration of the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic ties to Beijing.
The next day, Xi held a talk with Argentina President Alberto Ángel Fernández and signed a memorandum of understanding with him. With Xi’s help, Argentina joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative. In return, Argentina would obtain financing of more than $23 billion from China.
During his stay, Fernández visited an exhibition gallery of the CCP’s history; the memorial hall of Mao Zedong, one of the founders of the People’s Republic of China; and a tech center at China’s telecom equipment giant Huawei, state media outlets reported. Fernández became the first foreign leader to visit the CCP’s history gallery.
Some scholars said the CCP may be responsible for 60 million to 80 million unnatural deaths under its rule starting in 1949. Mao, the first Chinese leader, launched the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, which threw the most populous country in the world into chaos.
‘Password to Withdraw Money’ Operating in China’s Diplomacy
“Internationally, any state that is supportive of the Chinese communist regime or its stances will easily gain economic aid from the CCP,” China expert Li Linyi told The Epoch Times. “Netizens jokingly compare that to ’the password to withdraw money.' In other words, that [support] precisely satisfies what the CCP requires before it gives away financial benefits in exchange.”Li Yuanhua, a former associate professor at Beijing Capital Normal University, said Xi has harbored an illusionary dream that foreign leaders should travel to Beijing and salute his country as a world power.
“[Xi] gave Russian president a lot of orders to prioritize his own image because the Games is boycotted by many countries,” said Li. “Yet no one will reflect on how much taxpayers’ money has been squandered for the sake of the event.”
The CCP allowed Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape to appear at the Feb. 4 opening ceremony, even though he tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Beijing the day before.
“In fact, Beijing is spending money to butter up those countries,” Australia-based Dr. Lin Song told The Epoch Times. “This is plainly the same as bribery diplomacy or dollar diplomacy.”
Although many domestic citizens still live in poverty-stricken mountainous regions, the ruling CCP likes to be so lavish in its diplomacy, the expert said.
