一座陷入困境的新發電廠讓約旦欠中國債務，引發對北京影響力的擔憂 (2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

A troubled new power plant leaves Jordan in debt to China, raising concerns over Beijing's influence (2/2)

Wed, July 5, 2023 at 6:36 a.m. PDT

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The investment was part of China’s wider push into an Arab world hungry for foreign investment, experts say. The money for large infrastructure projects came with few political strings attached.

“China doesn’t bring with it the baggage of the United States in that we actually have some concern about democratic processes, transparency, corruption,” said David Schenker, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Middle East policy. “For authoritarian states, there’s some appeal in China.”

As talk grew of American unreliability, China turned to acquiring strategic assets in the Middle East, even in economically troubled states. It bought lots of Iraqi oil, tendered a port in northern Lebanon and poured money into President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s new capital in Egypt.

With Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2017 gaining the upper hand in his country’s civil war, China had an interest in investing in the Attarat project in neighboring Jordan as a springboard, anticipating a Syrian reconstruction boom that could unlock billions of dollars in investments, experts say.

Under their 30-year power purchase deal, Jordan’s state-run electricity company will have to buy electricity from the now effectively Chinese-led Attarat at an exorbitant rate that means the Jordanian government would lose $280 million annually, the treasury estimated. To cover the payments, Jordan would have to raise electricity prices for consumers by 17%, energy experts said — a severe blow to an economy already saddled with debt and inflation.

The extent of losses to China appalled the Jordanian government. Jordan’s Ministry of Energy launched international arbitration against Attarat Power Co. in 2020 “on the grounds of gross unfairness.”

When asked why Jordan had agreed to such a lopsided contract to begin with, Jordan’s Ministry of Energy declined to comment, as did the National Electricity Co. As of June, hearings were being held at an arbitration tribunal of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce.

Musa Hantash, a geologist on the parliamentary energy committee, described the deal as the natural outcome of corruption and a lack of technical expertise.

“It’s very difficult to convince these big companies to invest in Jordan. There are things to help certain people make a profit,” he said, without elaborating.

American officials portrayed the Attarat contract as a case of Beijing’s “ debt trap diplomacy.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the Attarat project. But it defended Beijing’s investment in developing countries, denying allegations it ensnares partners in debt and arguing that China never compels “others to borrow from us forcibly.”

“We never attach any political strings to loan agreements,” the ministry said, urging international financial institutions to help provide debt relief.

Attarat Power said it expects a decision in the case later this year. Rulings by the world business organization are legally binding and enforceable.

Maaitah and other company officials dismissed Jordan’s claims of unjustly inflated prices, accusing Jordan of backtracking on its agreement due to anti-China sentiment.

Since the first of two power units went live last fall, the Jordanian government has paid only half its monthly dues, Maaitah said.

In Jordan and other poorer Arab states allied with the U.S., the pace of Chinese investment in recent years has slowed.

Faced with pushback abroad and rising concerns at home, China is shifting its approach in the region, said Amman-based China expert Samer Khraino, focusing on the oil-rich Persian Gulf. Wealthy states like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have no issue paying back China’s big loans.

For now, Jordan appears unwilling to take any more chances with China.

In May, Jordan’s telecommunications company Orange signed a new agreement for 5G equipment. It had long been a customer of Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant under American sanctions.

This time, it chose Nokia.

 (Isabel Debre, The Associated Press)

Translation

（繼續）

專家表示，這項投資是中國更廣泛地進軍渴望外國投資的阿拉伯世界的一部分。 大型基礎設施項目的資金幾乎沒有附加任何政治條件。

美國前中東政策助理國務卿David Schenker表示: “中國沒有帶來美國的附帶包袱，因為我們實際上對民主進程、透明度和腐敗有所留意” 。 “對於威權國家來說，中國有一定的吸引力。”

隨著人們對美國不可靠的討論越來越多，中國轉向在中東收購戰略資產，甚至是在經濟陷入困境的國家。 它購買了大量伊拉克石油，招標了黎巴嫩北部的一個港口，並向阿卜杜勒-法塔赫·塞西總統在埃及的新首都注入資金。

專家稱，隨著2017年敘利亞總統巴沙爾·阿薩德在該國內戰中佔據上風，中國有興趣投資鄰國約旦的阿塔拉特項目作為跳板，預計敘利亞重建熱潮可能帶來數十億美元的投資 。

根據為期 30 年的購電協議，約旦國營電力公司將不得不以過高的價格,從目前實際上由中國領導的阿塔拉特購買電力，財政部估計，這意味著約旦政府每年將損失 2.8 億美元。 能源專家表示，為了支付這筆費用，約旦必須將消費者的電價提高 17%，這對已經背負債務和通貨膨脹的經濟造成嚴重打擊。

中國遭受的損失之大令約旦政府震驚。 約旦能源部於 2020 年 “以嚴重不公平為由” 對 阿塔拉特電力公司啟動了國際仲裁。

當被問及為什麼約旦一開始就同意這樣一份不平衡的合同時，約旦能源部拒絕置評，國家電力公司也拒絕置評。截至 6 月，聽證會正在位於巴黎的國際商會的仲裁庭舉行。

議會能源委員會的地質學家 Musa Hantash 將這筆交易描述為腐敗和缺乏技術專長的必然結果。

他說: “說服這些大公司在約旦投資非常困難。 有些東西可以幫助某些人獲利”, 但沒有詳細說明。

美國官員將阿塔拉特合同描述為北京 “債務陷阱外交” 的一個例子。

中國外交部拒絕對阿塔拉特項目發表評論。 但它為北京對發展中國家的投資進行了辯護，否認其讓合作夥伴陷入債務的指控，並辯稱中國從未強迫 “其他國家強行向我們藉款” 。

該部表示: “我們從不在貸款協議中附加任何政治條件” ，並敦促國際金融機構幫助提供債務減免。

阿塔拉特電力表示，預計該案將在今年晚些時候做出裁決。 世界商業組織的裁決具有法律約束力和可執行性。

Maaitah和其他公司官員駁斥了約旦關於不公正抬高價格的說法，指責約旦因反華情緒而背棄協議。

Maaitah說，自從去年秋天兩台發電機組中的第一台投入使用以來，約旦政府只支付了一半的月費。

在約旦和其他與美國結盟的較貧窮的阿拉伯國家，中國投資的步伐近年來有所放緩。

駐安曼的中國問題專家 Samer Khraino 諾表示，面對國外的阻力和國內日益增長的擔憂，中國正在改變其在該地區的做法，專注於石油資源豐富的波斯灣。 阿聯酋和沙特阿拉伯等富裕國家在償還中國的巨額貸款方面沒有問題。

目前，約旦似乎不願再與中國冒險。

5月，約旦電信公司Orange簽署了新的5G設備協議。 它長期以來一直是受到美國製裁的中國電信巨頭華為的客戶。

這一次，它選擇了諾基亞。

So, under a 30-year power purchase deal, Jordan’s state-run electricity company will have to buy electricity from the now effectively Chinese-led Attarat, meaning that the Jordanian government would lose around $280 million annually. The Jordanian government has launched an international arbitration against Attarat Power Co. “on the grounds of gross unfairness.” I am interested to know why Jordan had agreed to such a lopsided contract in the beginning. It seems that, for unknown reasons, Chinese money is easy to borrow by some countries that are of geo-political importance.