Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/02/2015 12:55
-0400
On Monday, after Greek PM
Alexis Tsipras’ dramatic referendum call sparked a run on Greek ATMs, grocery
stores, and gas stations, we did our part to help ameliorate the situation by
sending a subtle message to Athens:
Indeed, now may be an
opportune time to tap Beijing for a few billion given that China officially launched the AIIB this
week. As a reminder, the success of China’s AIIB membership drive was a
political disaster for The White House, which expended considerable effort to
discourage US allies from supporting the new China-led venture.
As such, it would be
difficult to imagine a more fitting pilot program for the world’s newest
supranational lender than a rescue package for the birthplace of Western
democracy which has been brought to its knees by that most Western of all
multilateral institutions, the IMF.
And while any funding to
Greece from China would likely be channeled through the Silk Road fund (at
least for now, given that the AIIB is just a few days old, officially), any aid
from Xi Jingping’s deep pockets to Athens would represent a spectacular coup on
both an economic and political level.
While the world is by now
likely incredulous about the prospects for a Greek “Eastern” pivot (around a
half dozen Russian headfakes have made us somewhat numb to the idea), Chinese
assistance might be more likely than Europe cares to admit. Sputnik News has more:
China may help Greece
directly through its new financial instruments, director of the
Quantitative Finance Department at China's Institute of Quantitative and
Technical Economics told Sputnik China.
Goldman Sachs predicted in a
report published on Wednesday that in a worst-case scenaria China's exports
would decline 2.2 percent as a result of Greece's economic crisis. Other than
exports to Greece itself, the crisis could also hurt the economies of nearby
countries, where Chinese businessmen have also made considerable investments.
"The Greek crisis has
an undoubtedly seriously influence on China's trade with Greece and investment
into the country. But I think that European countries together with China can
help Greece overcome the problems that arose," Fan Mingtao said.
"I believe there are
two ways to give Greece Chinese aid. First, within the framework of the
international aid through EU countries. Second, China could aid Greece
directly. Especially considering the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank. China has this ability," Fan added.
And while it's impossible to
overstate how hilariously ironic it is that Communist China could be the
world's best hope for preventing the birthplace of Western civilization from
careening into the Third World, there's a more subtle joke here as well. We'll
let readers discern what that joke is with the help of the following graphic:
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