I was in Antigua and Dominica last week on a Caribbean cruise. Lovely places, with strict restrictions for getting off the ship. The tour guide on Antigua told us how the Chinese were helping out their small, impoverished little island, independent since 1981. The Chinese finished a new airport there a few years ago and are building several new facilities, including a new hospital. There may be a few Chinese supervisors on these projects, we were told, but the bulk of the work would be done by locals. A few minutes later, I saw several oriental workers doing apparent manual labor. Someone asked about the white streetlights with little turbines on top, all along miles of highway. Provided by the Chinese, but not all were spinning in the breeze. Perhaps typical Chinese quality?
The next day, we toured Dominica, (independent since 1978) and drove past the "Dominica-China Friendship Hospital", a large, three-story facility. The Chinese will also assist in financing Dominica's international airport. I bet the runways will be long enough to accommodate Chinese jet fighters.
Maybe the Chinese are looking for opportunities for single men and tourists, or perhaps the ‘Belt and Road' initiative will someday turn the Caribbean Sea into a Chinese lake.I discovered I could read more about these projects on the interwebs. Take a look at the map.