EU goes begging to China, cap in hand ...

[DodgyAgent]

Who cares! Let the EU reap what it sowed. If they have to suffer years of austerity then so be it.

The people who are starving to death in Africa due to events that are beyond their control (drought, failed crops) are far more deserving of sympathy than the stupid greedy europeans who lived beyond their means for far too long.

Drought and poverty are caused by governments not by climate

[Doggy Styles]

Who cares! Let the EU reap what it sowed. If they have to suffer years of austerity then so be it.

The people who are starving to death in Africa due to events that are beyond their control (drought, failed crops) are far more deserving of sympathy than the stupid greedy europeans who lived beyond their means for far too long.

Africa has got nothing to do with it.

Your solution for Europe is fairly clueless. If you'd ever managed any kind of project, like doing the washing up, you'd know that UK leaving the EU is more than just a case of "Here's my resignation".

[MarillionFan]

Africa has got nothing to do with it.

Your solution for Europe is fairly clueless. If you'd ever managed any kind of project, like doing the washing up, you'd know that UK leaving the EU is more than just a case of "Here's my resignation".

Anyway. No need to worry about Africa. Suity is heading down there to save them.

[sasguru]

Anyway looks like the Chinese don't see Europe as a good bet since they've told them to fook orf and stop being so feckless.

[vetran]

China will keep its powder dry.

The Chinese have already bought most of Africa's mineral wealth with the money we sent them to buy dangerous sofas and consumer goods made with dirty power + cheap labour because its too expensive to make here. Because we have to pay green taxes, and observe health & safety, use green energy and pay half our wages out so anyone not working can live in comfort.

The Billions of pounds we sent the Africans as aid has been spent on BMW's and Boeing executive jets, at least in the days of the RAJ they bought Rolls Royces & De Havillands.

India was a feudal society with hereditary empires or those by dint of conquest a bit like Japan, China and Africa. The benefit of the Raj going there was to spread Democracy ,Christian laws and morals.

I doubt very much it was all rosy and fair before we got there, most people lived or died on the whim of the nearest lord just like the UK in the middle ages. Just like central Africa now, where despite the UK, US,France, Germany etc buying their people in massive numbers from the local lord we didn't establish any real outposts and look what a basket case they are now.

If we hadn't gone to India and outer Africa and abolished slavery , feudalism and dictatorial monarchies they would probably have joined Japan in WWII and wiped most of us off the face of the earth. Many of the other dictatorships & monarchies were on the AXIS side or Neutral waiting to pick over the leavings.

I think the ordinary Indian folk in hindsight probably appreciate the input of the RAJ more than the lefties do. Much like we appreciate the Magna Carta which was a law written for rich people that inadvertently set poor people free something good done for a bad reason.

Comparing trade in pre world war and pre industrial revolution international trading with post two world wars when most merchant ships had been blown up and there was no money left seems statistically ridiculous but you cling to it if you wish. What precisely did India sell before then? (Precious metals, stones dug over millenia, Cloth & silks for the rich)

http://www.iisg.nl/hpw/papers/broadberry-gupta.pdf

We were also were occupying India therefore we didn't buy off them they sent raw materials as a fee for occupation (pretty traditional behaviour throughout history) - a bit like Africa and Europe will be when China own us. But truthfully the Indian economy was killed by James Watt & Arkwright. Just the opposite of the UK IT industry being killed By Tata & Wipro taking advantage of cheap labour.

What is interesting is what they did after we left. What did it produce afterwards? (Raw cotton & food) Until the 80's when they started selling their cheap labour.

File:Per capita GDP of South Asian economies & SKorea (1950-1995).png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would imagine the Chinese will wait for the yard sale and pick up what they want cheaply. They aren't stupid.