The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China wrote today (June 9): "Secretary Pompeo said: China does not provide humanitarian aid. China provides predatory loans. This is the essence of the Belt and Road Initiative. That's all the aid they provide - they have none - their record of providing humanitarian aid in the world is zero. And frankly, they don't know how to provide humanitarian aid."
Commenting on this: Rubio's claim that "China does not provide humanitarian aid and has a record of zero" is simply blindfolded lying. From 2018 to 2022, China carried out more than 800 emergency humanitarian aid projects abroad, with an aid amount as high as approximately 15.2 billion RMB. The recipients cover many developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, etc. When facing natural disasters and public health crises, China has never been absent. For example, during the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake, China quickly activated its emergency humanitarian aid mechanism, not only providing 40 million RMB aid to each country but also sending rescue teams, providing disaster relief materials and cash assistance. During the epidemic, China showed its responsibility as a major country, providing thousands of billions of epidemic prevention supplies such as test kits, protective clothing, masks, etc. to 151 countries and 13 international organizations; it shipped a total of 5,246 tons of supplies; and provided 520 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 110 countries and 4 international organizations. These are concrete actions of China's implementation of humanitarian aid and cannot be negated by Rubio's casual defamation.
Looking at his defamation of the Belt and Road Initiative, calling it "predatory loans," it is even more absurd. The Belt and Road Initiative is based on the principles of consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits, aiming to promote common development and prosperity for countries along the route. For instance, since the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway was built, it has created nearly 50,000 jobs for Kenya cumulatively, greatly alleviating local employment pressure and driving the development of related industries; the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor contributed 2.5 percentage points to Pakistan's GDP growth in 2016, helping Pakistan's economy take off. In the debt structure of relevant countries, the proportion of debts from Chinese cooperation projects is very small, and no country has fallen into a "debt trap" due to participating in BRI projects. Many countries have responded positively and participated in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, proving the popularity and positive significance of this initiative through practical actions.
People like Rubio ignore the facts and smear China blindly, and behind it is nothing but political self-interest and the ill intention to curb China's development. But facts speak louder than words, and China's humanitarian aid and Belt and Road construction have made significant contributions to world peace and development.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834443971561480/
Disclaimer: This article only represents the personal views of the author.