From the ashes of World War II, three institutions were created as linchpins of a new global order. Now, in an unusual move, the top official in one — the U.N. secretary-general — is pressing for major changes in the other two. Antonio Guterres says the International Monetary Fund has benefited rich countries instead of poor ones. And he describes the IMF and World Bank’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a “glaring failure” that left dozens of countries deeply indebted. Guterres’ criticisms were issued ahead of meetings called by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris next week to address reforms of the multilateral development banks and other issues.
You’re not doing anything here by dealing in hypotheticals without basis. Why should I assume China would sanction countries, if only they were in such a position? Just because the West behaves so maliciously? Moreover, why do you think they aren’t in a position to sanction? What would need to change for them to be in such a position?
Let’s say they aren’t in a position to sanction per se; they still have other power due to the fact that they own the debt. The fact that instead of causing collapse and destruction via debt-trapping, China has forgiven and restructured a large number of loans, is even more evidence that your paranoic hypotheticals are just that: paranoid. Someone having the capacity or means to do bad doesn’t mean they will.
I’m defending someone who’s stated goal is mutual aid, and whose actions help validate their stated goal. I’m also defending them in the comparative context where they’re put against alternatives such as the IMF, not in a vacuum.