Media Release – 09.04.2017

China Rail Deal Bad For Northland

The Memorandum of Understanding being signed in Whangarei on Monday between the Northland Regional Council and China Rail is bad news for Northland says Democrats for Social Credit Whangarei Candidate & Finance Spokesman Chris Leitch.

China Rail will be seeking a substantial profit on any project it chooses to invest in.

That means it would be taking more out of the Northland economy than it put in.

How is that good for Northland?

China’s “One Road, One Belt” strategy, being implemented by China Rail, includes plans to build roads, railways, ports, and other infrastructure to create demand for China’s industrial exports in the face of overcapacity at home.

The MOU in clause 5 specifically identifies “infrastructure projects” as its purpose.

On two counts, Regional Council Chairman Bill Shepherd is either purposely obscuring the facts, or is remarkably naive in claiming the MOU is “to develop business opportunities for the benefit of the Northland economy and its people”.

“Infrastructure projects” are much more specific than “business opportunities” and they are for the benefit of China Rail, not “the Northland economy and its people”.

Clearly, China Rail has identified what it sees as potential infrastructure opportunities. Why else would it be signing a MOU with the NRC.

Those opportunities could only be road and rail links to the port at Marsden Point, or the port itself.

China is already building massive projects in third world countries like Nigeria and Zimbabwe funded by Chinese central bank issued money, and using Chinese steel, and Chinese labour.

New Zealand has the expertise to build road and rail links, it doesn’t need to import anything to build them with, it has the skilled labour force, and, just like China, it could use its own central bank to fund the projects and any profits would stay in New Zealand.

We don’t need the Chinese to do it for us.

ENDS

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