China’s $17 billion plan for a Canal across Europe

In 2013, China announced its Belt and Road Initiative for the first time. Since then, the country has been spearheading a staggering amount of mega-investments across the entire planet. One of these investments is a potential game-changing project in the Balkans: The Danube-Morava-Vardar/Axios canal. Estimated to cost around 17 billion USD, it would be one of China’s most costly single projects and could change the geopolitical and geoeconomic value of the region forever.
This canal would connect the Danube river directly with the Mediterranean sea, thus presenting a new waterway which could be used to simply bypass the until now crucial Turkish Straits. In this video, we’ll take a look at China’s reasons behind the project, its negotiations with Serbia, North Macedonia and Greece, and also its impact in the region and beyond.
Thanks for watching, consider subscribing for more content like this in the future!
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Consider supporting this channel on Patreon:
Link to my Patreon: / politicswithpaint
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Music:
Allemande (by Wahneta Meixsell)
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Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
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Sources:
Arsim Ejupi (2018)The idea of Morava-Vardar water canal and its long-term geopolitical context. In: GeoScape, 12(2), 84-91.
Dobrivoje Jovanovski (1993) Morava - Vardar (Axios) Navigation Route. Online: danube-cooperation.com/danubiu...
Dragan Dunčić, Jelena Lukić (2013) The Project to Construct the Danube-Morava-Vardar-Aegean Canal
Alkis John Corres, Basil Tselentis (2014) An inland waterway option for sustainable freight transport in southeastern Europe. Online: www.researchgate.net/publicat...
Milena Nikolic, Dragan Dincic (2014) The Waterway Danube-Morava-Aegean (Schiller Institute conference) Online: • Nikolic & Duncic - Die...
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#china #balkans #geopolitics

[@ArkenTheAmerikan]

"To show you the power of China, I sawed the Balkans in half!"

[@ChewK000]

this .

[@honantong]

it's all up to these countries to decide what's good for them. If they want it, means it's good for them. China is not like some coutries which would bomb you to get your resource

[@bluemoondiadochi]

Should be better said "To show you the power of China, i SEWED half of the Balkans together". now THAT is a FEAT.

[@alen0u]

If only I had FlexTape to fix my homeland :(

[@tlam3028]

@@honantong no they won’t bomb you, they’ll send you to concentration camps to “re-educate” those Balkan countries until they comply.

[@user-gr9fq9gt9w]

What's Turkey is doing is exactly what KZbin is doing with the ads and the KZbin premium.

[@outerspace7391]

AHAHAHA DUDE 😂😂😂

[@sinanemreyuksek7541]

So you are telling us eygbt can make profit from suez canal but turkey is not allowed to do i think this is unfair

[@comradekenobi6908]

@@sinanemreyuksek7541 well Kakyoin, maybe there's a thing called double standards

[@beu9245]

@@sinanemreyuksek7541 It's just a bit of a wank move the Turks will avoid the terms of the treaty the way they're planning

[@1811tito]

@@sinanemreyuksek7541 Bec in egypt its a man made canal it's artificial while turkey its natural canal so what next spain will charge ships to enter the Mediterranean sea

[@masonwhite9781]

Theres always some damned thing in the Balkans

[@liberator101]

That's cuz Europe doesn't care, but there are other that do.

[@BeaverChainsaw]

"Europe today is a powder keg and the leaders are like men smoking in an arsenal … A single spark will set off an explosion that will consume us all … I cannot tell you when that explosion will occur, but I can tell you where … Some damned foolish thing in the Balkans will set it off.." -Otto von Bismarck

[@invinciblecucumber]

Yeah, it's because we never exploited and robbed other countries, made fortunes out of slavery, gained riches from imperialism and occupation of other nations, that we lost step with "developed and refined" west...😄😄😄

[@liberator101]

@@BeaverChainsaw Ah, I remember hearing that from Extra Credits, too bad no one listened to him.

[@liberator101]

@@invinciblecucumber eh, at laest we have some morality, wihich is by the way degrading at a rapid phase in todays society in Serbia. Greed was the thing that destroyed Yugo.

[@felixtheswiss]

It seems nobody takes mountains seriously anymore.

[@sahrazad8213]

"Yeah let's spend 17 billion dollars carving a river through the balkans. What? Go around? We'd have to pay a fee!"

[@Big-BossX]

@@sahrazad8213 to be fair for the artificial route you pay one big price but for steady passage the fee will always occur so its smarter on their side

[@EgnachHelton]

@@Big-BossX or they can just build a railway that integrates well with the harbor...

[@catalindeluxus8545]

Short term vs long term. The canal also has the geopolitical advantage if bringing Greece, an EU nation, closer to China.

[@helgaioannidis9365]

@@EgnachHelton that's actually another project. Greece wants to connect Alexandroupolis with the Danube river through railway.

[@bobmantheawesome]

Finally, I can sail from greece to belgium by going across the continent

[@stephtash9494]

Would definitely make sense Europe really needs a canal to connect countries

[@felixtheswiss]

You can go from marseille to rotterdam today

[@letnjiznoj]

@@stephtash9494 I'll open a europe wide tourism agency organizing tours for every country along the water way and watch me get rich

[@tylerdurden3153]

You already can There's a canal between the black sea and Danube

[@letnjiznoj]

@@tylerdurden3153 he said "by going across the continent"

[@abelnicolae]

Three balkan states agreeing on something and working together? 😁 This project is already doomed.

[@doomdrake123]

Nah, if Bulgaria is not involved there is hope, sincerely a bulgarian.

[@niyazikoken8836]

It seems like powderkeg is gonna explode again 😇😇😉

[@coreystinar7453]

Greece is going to make Macedonia do some kind of nationalistic bullshit before they will agree to the deal.

[@fitmotheyap]

@@doomdrake123 macedonia and greece are involved It's gonna go wrong

[@ksenijaurovic8646]

Nah, we are kinda poor. The poor like money

[@D2attemp]

I like that Serbia’s coat of arms doubles as an eyepatch

[@JohnSmith-ox3gy]

Oops, wrong comment!

[@malaka0132]

this has been the joke in the countryballs comunity aince like 2011, glad its still around

[@hopin8krzys]

Most countries with coat of arms or something similiar on the flag are presented this way in polandball style, with an eyepatch. Some have even two, like Austria-Hungary, because they had both nations coa on flag

[@U_1984]

its Snake Plissken Serbia!

[@benismann]

I like how people are unaware of countryballs, started in the ancient era of the internet - 2011

[@greekmapper5531]

Welcome to the balkans, we don't live, we survive

[@Lightendaltrax]

I love the Balkans such as Greece and Serbia lmao (from Egypt)

[@bosanski_Cevap]

As I a bosnian I must agree Nothing more thanl pain

[@observeoutofthebox7806]

@@bosanski_Cevap how was life during USSR though ? Can i get an unbiased answer please

[@observeoutofthebox7806]

How was life for the Balkans during the Soviet Union era though? I am curious. Please give an unbiased answer. I have already become so tired of hearing all the hate talk

[@bosanski_Cevap]

@@observeoutofthebox7806 I have no plan of the ussr but life in yugoslavia was pretty good during 60s-80s What my parents told me is that crime was low, everyone had enough money for food and it was simple and good. Bosnia was still extremly low developped duo most investments going to belgrade,croatia and slovenia In the 80s after the death of tito and the beginning of the economical collapse, food got more expensive, crime rised and it was the beginning of the collapse

[@ncrvako]

as a greek living in those areas, the plan is a double edge sword for various reasons, like ecological disasters vs more jobs for the area, or trade benefits vs posible miscalculations that could ruin the area. Also, i think that Austria-Hungary cov had the same idea but because of cost + war issues had not achieved this.

[@conk6379]

They'll bring Chinese workforce so no new jobs really

[@ncrvako]

@@conk6379 eh, there are rumors for a chinatown in thesaloniki but still, to do bisuness, they have to give bissunes, else..

[@keepitprivate3856]

@@conk6379 yea, this is why the budget is not expensive, only chinese worker is willing to work at low salary and delivering high efficiency or you wont be seeing the construction finish before the world end sometimes it just the culture and regulations make this different after all, there will be jobs after the project finished

[@danicic87]

I was reading about this canal in primary school in 90-s as child. ( btw I am from Serbia ) My father was was reading in 60 and 70-s when he was in school that this canal is "going to be built pretty soon" when SFRJ ( Yougoslavia was planning to built it ) Right now this is situation. Serbia do not have money. Macedonia do not have interest and money ( canal would probably go throught their capital Skoplje ) Grece -> IDK what are they thoughts ( but I doubt they can finance it also ) .. China well -> they have money, and myb they have interest it is easy to bribe politicans and get the job done with their resources. But it looks like they chosen to build proper railway instead ( which is safer thing to do for now .. ) At the end yes it can be built but the question is "is it worth it". Especially with Global warming and fact that in 20 years lot of Suez canal traffic will shift to "ice free" Artic, and you need ~7-10 years to finish this project ( if you start building today )

[@ncrvako]

@@danicic87 that is by today standarts. in 7-10 years a lot of things change. maybe they have calculated diftently.

[@flagflow1232]

I'm from Balkans and this is the first time that I hear about this.

[@beyondrecall9446]

isto..

[@blondie2535]

Me too my friend

[@thedave8097]

Same lol

[@LeeGee]

Where do you guys get your news?!

[@blondie2535]

From greek networks

[@sanskrit011]

Europe: Serbia we will take your sea again Serbia: Then I will bring sea to me!

[@maerto]

I guess this is how Serbia will reach Tokyo en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srbija_do_Tokija

[@despa7726]

I HAVE BROUGHT A FRIEND! OH, CHINAAA!

[@sanskrit011]

@@maerto we learn the lesson we use now hybrid war, and saying to our neighbor that they are paranoid and our new shiny weapons is for parades.

[@sargylion4112]

North Europeans: dont invest in the Balkans *China: Fine... I 'll do it myself*

[@mercenarygundam1487]

North Euros: You're funeral buddy

[@Nemoticon]

@@mercenarygundam1487 North Europeans: How did they do that? The Chinese did it in record time AND turned a profit, we haven't done that in centuries xD

[@angrycabbage1988]

9:15 "Spend more money in Gyros" Average Greek every day

[@drndarevicstefan2396]

Invest

[@Sava.S]

As a Serbian it would be sad to destroy Vardar in North Macedonia and Morava in Serbia because they are really beautiful, Serbia already has sea access thru Montenegro and we can buy ports from Greece for much less money, but as a power play and economic investment it's a great plan

[@asirnewazkhan4172]

I'm sure there are benefits but as someone in a country that has massive Chinese investment let me point a few things out; 1) the Chinese will ask for concessions which your government will have a hard time providing; such as in Hambantota in Sri Lanka 2) The Chinese import material from China so your companies won't earn much; Padma Bridge in Bangladesh 3) the Chinese also import most of their workers so your people won't be employed initially; literally every project in Pakistan Think it through my friend.

[@SantiFiore]

@@asirnewazkhan4172 This is the appropiate list of cons. China brings both materials and workforce from their homeland giving little benefit to the local country. Its like a colonial trading post.

[@asirnewazkhan4172]

@@SantiFiore they're hard headed and narrow minded. It's hard to negotiate

[@beu9245]

@@asirnewazkhan4172 Even if that wasn't the case China getting more sway in Europe will always give me the creeps

[@MrDgo4life]

@@asirnewazkhan4172 China does that so the project actually materializes instead of local firrms and govts making the money disappear leading to the project not happening and Western countries having a field day and giving negative press to China on that end. China gets hate regardless of its fails and successes.

[@mvfc7637]

The Morava River in Serbia is quite a wild river and has been difficult to tame.

[@user-mh4kh4tm9u]

@Pedro Martins João thanks for your long article to say negative things about China. btw, “There is authorized to be appropriated $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 for the Countering Chinese Influence Fund to counter the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party globally.” Quoted from congress.gov Some guys are on the payroll and guess who.

[@thename6879]

@@user-mh4kh4tm9uwhat?

[@mbvbm3104]

Quality is on the same level as channels with millions of subs. Great video

[@n1hondude]

Same level? Please, this is much better AND original than unoriginal copycats like LifeLore or whatever that’s called lol

[@GijsTheDog]

Sounds like a Trojan horse.

[@davisdelp8131]

It is

[@ztheguy222]

This already happened in Africa. Promised jobs brought a Chinese version of colonial exploitation.

[@Waterisntblu3]

@@ztheguy222 Yep and they leave them with mountains of debt.

[@ezekielbrockmann114]

@@Waterisntblu3 Unpayable debt. This is neocolonialism.

[@lvjinbin28]

why people use credit card to buy a Rolex?greed

[@ekin4260]

Another very well made video. Congratulations on a job well done, moruk!

[@ninny65]

"Another state owned another state owned another state owned"

[@DutchSimmer1]

It’s called communism. It has it’s advantages and disadvantages just like privately owned companies.

[@lewisemmerson6513]

@@DutchSimmer1 China hasn't been communist for a long time

[@observeoutofthebox7806]

@@lewisemmerson6513 that's because they learned from USSR s mistake of not being this good guy and helping everyone for free only to get pinned down broken up with economic sanctions and injecting capitalism and painted as the bad guy.. They are following a way of Trotsky s socialism. First introduce state capitalism Build the economy strong, Build other nations around you to gain favour and sustain yourself economically Possibly spread socialism there too And then only you can finally resort to full on socialism. Communism is an end goal for a society where everyone owns everything and everyone is happy and equal. You cant do it in the current world but in a few decades ? why not. So yeah if China can keep on growing and avoid wars and subversions they could truly become communist

[@lewisemmerson6513]

@@observeoutofthebox7806 In theory yes but what they are displaying now is not state capitalism, it's just capitalism. Sure, parts of their economy are state-run, but they have lots of private industry. In fact, in some of their major cities like Shanghai they have an almost fully laissez faire economy. More so than even the United States. I can't see a communist or even socialist end goal for them because what they are showing now is so far from that. They're just another authoritarian country vying for power on the world stage

[@observeoutofthebox7806]

@@lewisemmerson6513 hahah that's what you think man, but that authoritarian control is still over the private industries. They have allowed private industries to grow, but it has always been noticed that once an industry becomes powerful enough they will buy out the majority stake through a government subsidiary, and cap the company and divert the income to state. And when rich people get too arrogant or capitalistic they will simply disappear and become a puppet for state. And I like they tbh. Those are autonomous regions but at any time the government can have control over them. It will be a 5 to 10 decades procedure before China turns fully communist.

[@saruman9226]

Your vids are amazing and straight to the point. Bro you deserve a ton of subscribers!

[@crkcrk702]

Turkey is repeating its mistake. Last time it blocked trafic between Europe and China, Europe discovered America. This time China will find its way by constructing a 823 km canal

[@vascodegama6095]

@lee Yuri well someone would do it instead of us lol

[@reefjosey1947]

and ''discovered America'' will let China to build it , are you waiting that? this is the most dangerous thing for US, they can even start 3. world war to block this Canal project. Be careful. Your savior may be your worst enemy.

[@Shadow_Drip]

It’s time to discover a new continent

[@fazzxides8429]

Or modern day Zeppelins, made in China of course

[@crkcrk702]

@Pedro Martins João great

[@Skin1in]

Thanks for video mate.

[@hamdaanfarrukh2424]

Found your channel in KZbin recommendations and loving it. You've got yourself a subscriber

[@BigSauce_]

Cool little channel, subbed.

[@atanasijesimic4651]

Nice video, keep up the good work.

[@Kyleinasailing]

Two years ago I went from Regensburg to the Black sea in my own small boat. The traffic, once passed Serbia, was very little and infact the whole journey was with little traffic...which surprised me. I think there would be a need to pass policy to take goods off the roads and on to barges to make the project worthwhile. Interesting idea though.

[@tortugatech]

passing legislation to make companies use boats instead of roads wouldn't be necessary, as boats are 80x cheaper than trucks, and 12x cheaper than rail!

[@hrodvitnir7524]

awesome channel and video. cant wait to see more

[@rividizd]

very enjoyable watch! good job man!

[@AntAntL]

This canal project is expensive, logistically difficult, and full of political landmines. I doubt the canal project ever gets approved, or even start construction. This is at best a 20 to 30 year project dream.

[@observeoutofthebox7806]

Man.. I live in Sri Lanka and that's what we thought about the Southern port which was totally unnecessary and Port city which is hugely expensive around 8 to 5 years ago... South Port belongs to China now And Port City is almost complete.

[@observeoutofthebox7806]

But I hate my country and would rather see it becoming a Slave to China because I belong to a minority and there was genocide here no one talks or knows about that killed alot of our people... so yeah Go China

[@ex0duzz]

All you need to do is give approval, and allow China to do the work herself and then you will see why China has USA shook. China will do it on record time and for affordable price, and world class quality. USA is shook because China offers deals too good to refuse and actually delivers on it. If anything fails, it's usually because of the other side and their own domestic issues or laws rather than China.

[@nebojsadurmanovic2268]

@@observeoutofthebox7806 Do the people of Sri Lanka benefit from it in any way?

[@NoNo-qj3ef]

observe out of the box ironic, china did commit genocides against a Muslim minority, every country did genocide one way or another

[@kinnay999]

your illustrations look better each video !

[@jackdarko4486]

Great content. Helpful animations.

[@ztac_dex]

Found your channel via Kraut, also you give some SamOnella vibes on the stick figure

[@ZWang-gf7vi]

A little mistake, 0:29 shows the Ming dynasty when the silk road had been blocked at that time (after the death of Mongol Empire). It was partly because of Ottoman Empire blocked the way and partly because of Ming lost control of Xinjiang province.

[@Haijwsyz51846]

You are right. It should have been the Han dynasty 汉 (200s BC) instead of Ming 明 (1400s AD) 。 Over a thousand years of time period.

[@LivingIronicallyinEurope]

Good video as always

[@total3117]

Great vid. Keep up the great work.

[@total3117]

@Junkers Ju 87 No

[@dimaE965]

Just found your channel through kraut and I am subscribing

[@PrinceNation]

Turkey won’t have to block off the Bosporus, traffic is so heavy going through it, the new canal would be a small price to pay for express access

[@teodorgeorgievski1148]

Well that's 1 more reason to build this Canal...

[@barackobama2195]

Hello Kanye Weast, it's your beloved cousin, Kanye East. How how you been? I hope you are well Yours truly, Kanye East

[@andrewzhou4228]

Xi Jin Ping : Trust me I’m an engineer

[@iker_santa]

Of epic skill and epic gear?

[@Mr_Makina]

Xi Jin ping : "Trust me, im a honey expert" *Winnie-the-Pooh noises*

[@seanlee3863]

he actually did study and graduate from chemical engineering

[@manscapedgrinch1427]

@@seanlee3863 beat me to it, haha.

[@observeoutofthebox7806]

@@seanlee3863 lmao yeah

[@whoyouknowbruh]

Nice vids dude

[@gtaylor2770]

In spite of the music, which just about drove me crazy, this was an interesting analysis. Thank you for teaching me things I didn't know.

[@Kevin-cm5kc]

I love finding new interesting channels. Time to binge watch all your political content

[@Hamsteak]

The steps and the dragon with China is funny and true. I like how you added Hong Kong 🇭🇰 and Macau 🇲🇴

[@yqisq6966]

People calling this neocolonialism have no idea. China's economic rise for the past decades is largely due to opening up and inviting foreign investments. The same applies to other developing nations - they need investments in order to profit in the future. China is only filling the vacuum left by the West.

[@Clarke5409]

China is a disgusting state.

[@leexingha]

@@Clarke5409 dont worry ur also disgusting for me

[@leexingha]

everyone knows canal is insanely profitable. a certain country needs to make a wise decision. does anti-Chinese whispers will help that certain country grow economically? its need to think on its own

[@Jake-dh9qk]

@@Clarke5409 Lol what country you live in? I can find even more disgusting details about it trust me :)

[@drowndefacto]

I like your voice 🤔 so calming. As oppose of living in Balkans 🤣 Thanks from 🇭🇷 Croatia for the video 🙏

[@thom_wye]

I'd be interested in knowing the relevance of the Danube-Oder-Elbe canal project in conjunction with this one

[@fritoss3437]

Great vidéo from France

[@kingboymilan5927]

Great video! Greetings from Serbia.

[@olivercuenca4109]

0:37 I do like the China Railways logo. It's some of the nicest branding I've seen in a while, plus it works on multiple levels. The top bit is in the shape of the front of an old steam train, the bottom bit is shaped like a cut-through of a rail. And together they're the symbols that mean something like "people's railway" or something like that. All in one neat package.

[@billtheone3467]

too bad if they ever decide to take over the world everyone that's not Chinese will be surely fucked

[@beyondrecall9446]

It's like saying, if the Americans take over, we're all fucked.. Well, I've already been fucked and bombed by the usa when I was a kid, when they were still supporting the Mujahideen.. So, I 've been fucked by china and russia by daily cargo flights of medical equipment tests and, now, vaccines.. So, I'd choose our communist comrades every time if you ask me to be fucked by the west or the east

[@Larry-Lobster]

@@billtheone3467 what have you been smoking?

[@billtheone3467]

@@beyondrecall9446 some allies you must have. Have you heard what your Chinese comrades have been doing to their Muslim population. I hate America's stupid foreign policy as much as the next guy, but we ain't rounding up people and forcing sterilization on them. having women be forced upon by han men in literal breeding camps to build a better unified and complacent Chinese population. Like the fuck they doing over there. But that's their culture ig. m

[@billtheone3467]

@@Howard-de1gs the United state president acknowledged the validity of my "rumors" and called it a difference in culture. so yeah fuck China

[@jahahhahahahah1463]

RealLifeLore just stole this vid lowkey

[@n1hondude]

Yeah, I had only seen one video and found interesting but annoying he calls the countries “she” lol But now I won’t need to be annoyed anymore since I won’t watch sh*t anymore :)

[@raymendez3403]

​@@n1hondude I know I might be out of context but in other languages than English countries names have genders so yeah I'm not excusing his English mistakes but I'm just telling it's not as uncommon as you might think

[@n1hondude]

@@raymendez3403 I don't mind the "mistakes" :)

[@Devynwithawhy]

this is a true news channel. Unbiased, dry, non-sensational, fact based, and yet still sometimes shocking or intriguing

[@boredspector]

Amazing video

[@chuckyfox9284]

Great Video!

[@fazlicancetin7664]

Very nice!

[@davorgolic7978]

I live in North Macedonia, and this project about connecting Danube-Morava-Vardar was actually mentioned by Josip Broz Tito in the time of Yugoslavia but it was abandoned due to the relocation of people living in the Vardar Valley and the fertile soil that surrounds the river. However looking at it today, if China does this I suggest we build a statue of Xi Jinping!

[@davorgolic7978]

@@stevan5474 necemo komunizam, hocemo para

[@davorgolic7978]

@lock lock because the EU has done absolutely nothing for this country. We changed the name, made many new stupid laws, did all the things we were supposed to do and still we are not in. Everyone is getting disillusioned

[@davorgolic7978]

@@stevan5474 pa ne znam dali su gori od ameri brate... Vidi irak, libija, afghanistan, jos u haosu posle toliko godina. Nismo mi toliko interesantni kinezima, nemamo nafte. Bilo bi veoma lakse sa njima

[@davorgolic7978]

@@stevan5474 i rekao je druze Tito, za glup i nekulturan narod treba jedna vlast koja ce da skolova 4-5 generacija, nakon toga moze biti prava demokratija. Ja se potpuno slazem, ne znam kako je u Srbiji ali kod nas su 75% ljudi teshki debili 😂

[@davorgolic7978]

@@stevan5474 zbog izdajnika se raspala jugoslavija, zbog njih smo 30 godina bili u "tranziciju", zbog njih danas ne radi ni jedna fabrika iz to vreme (fas 11 oktomvri, metalurski zavod, tutunski kombinat...) Problem je to oni imaju para i narod ih glasa zbog obecanja, a onda kad bilo ko dodje na vlasti pravi se mutav i ukrade opet pola drzavu. Zbog to sam rekao da nam treba kineski novac i diktatura, da se nauci ovaj narod na sazivot i kultura, mozda se tad izdignemo i mozda tad bice malo bolje...

[@colinfrank4494]

Found this channel thanks to Kraut, nice content!

[@hoi4_history_nerdgaming126]

the format is like Brain4Breakfast(RIP), well done

[@donal784]

RIP, I miss him :(

[@markoboredguy6911]

serbia has no opposition in parlament - its basically a one party country - so they will do whatever china tells them to do

[@letnjiznoj]

Thing is, serbia can't get too close to daddy china since the west will get pissed Serbia always needs to balance relations and not be too close to anyone

[@mda990]

Why? is the opposition boycotting the parliament?

[@uroscugalj2934]

@@mda990 no its just no one ever votes for them

[@mda990]

@@uroscugalj2934 wow. either serbia has a good governing party or serbs are just optionless. i assume serbia has a pro-nato opposition so noone votes for them maybe.

[@vozhonn401]

@@mda990 Someone could write an entire book about it, it's complex. Serbia has a multi-party system, not like America with a two-party system. A new party, formed in 2008, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS in Serbian), got major hold since 2012. People actually do vote for the presidents from this party, there IS a democracy. Idk if elections are rigged; I think they aren't, I think people DO vote for SNS. People are angry about the previous adminstration from the Democratic Party. The party does do well, I think. It very neutral-based when it comes to foreign policy, Serbia having very good relations with everybody, but never befriending any major power too much, cooperating with everybody: EU, USA, Russia, China. They sit on multiple chairs. There was a coalition of the opposition parties to "bring down" the current leader of SNS, who is also the president of a country, which is Aleksandar (Alexander) Vučić; but they simply didn't succeed. People don't want them. There's also problems like, Vučić is censoring media, doing an effective propaganda on its people, and people working in government sector are generally having to be a member of SNS to hold a job. And corruption is high overall. So, this Vučić guy, he acts like he's a dictator of sorts in a democratic and FREE country, he got hold of media and got his people in positions. He's a VERY capable guy, it seems. Now, even though he's like that, he and SNS are actually not bad at all as you might assume. they actually DO stuff, the country is now doing pretty good actually, going in a good direction. Infrastructure being built everywhere, factories built, military revitalized, foreign policy is great, unemployment rate fell sharply....idk, people have differing opinions about this. You ARE allowed to talk crap about the president or the party, and people and some media do, I mean, there IS a freedom of speech, unlike in China and authoritarian countries. For example, it was popular for football fans for some time to shout 'Vučiću Pederu!' (Vučić you fag*ot!) during matches, and he even laughed and mentioned it on a national TV, LOL. We will see what will happen when his presidential mandate runs out in 2024. The guy will be ruling the country for 12 years by then. Will it simply be another president from SNS? I have no idea. No one knows probably. It will be a very interesting time then. Imagine Dems getting major hold, like 90%, in America, they control senate/congress/mayors etc., and so, they democratically become a ruling party, and USA starts looking like a one-party system even though it's not, and act unitary, as if it's a dictatorship. Won't last forever though.

[@kugelblitz9365]

Stupid youtube doesn't notify me even with the bell turned on

[@user-yy6bo5fr6q]

As Maritime Navigator I'll tell you that's complete bullsh*t the traffic in Danube is already f up. Cargo ships in rivers could be shipped in smaller quantities that means you'll need more ships and personnel to otherwise ship the same amount closer to the last port only to the expense of the marine diesel.

[@blueflyuniversity1528]

Or Danube gets its upgrade package which allows heavier cargo ships..

[@strafzettel6470]

8:30 the widths are wrong when put into miles. Certainly the danube isnt 9,3 Miles wide :D

[@PoliticswithPaint]

oopsi :' )

[@Killerbee4712]

its 9.3 miles wide and only 500m in length

[@adarozer]

This canal seems to cause great damage to the Turkish economy. The strategic importance of Istanbul will suffer.

[@Theprinceofithilien]

Turkish economy? what is that xD

[@taro7145]

Who cares?

[@pauliusgaivenis2665]

is it coincidence that RLL did a video on exactly same topic just 2 months after you released it?

[@tedrash7402]

he even starts with the exact same sentence, "china is on the rise" and has almost same structure in parts

[@nikosboutsikas9719]

Rll is a joke, like come on. Personally i would copyright strike him

[@tedrash7402]

i dont think copyright applies here. RLL's video is different enough but its clear some parts are based from this vid especially the beginning

[@rockofwisdom]

This is a really good video with so much depth!

[@rockofwisdom]

@Pedro Martins João You need to focus on your country, China will not export their culture and will not export war's and poverty. You are looking at a different super power, from your words atleast. And the video was in depth becuase it had a lot of history and alot of interesting presptives, it was not plain and one-sided but from all angles. It was also interesting for me beacuse I am from Serbia so it effects me directly, my only concern is of ecological nature not political. I think Serbia should aline with China rather then the west but nature has to be protected.

[@rockofwisdom]

@Pedro Martins João And also i prefer CCP more then Brussels and Washington, we can be their HUB of operations for Europe. Powers of Europe sold their integrety to the US long time ago, they didn't sell it rather it was taken from them.

[@rockofwisdom]

@Pedro Martins João We will see who is a fool

[@rockofwisdom]

@Pedro Martins João I dont like some laws that are strict in China, but it's their thing they have 1.6 billion people, most of the Chinese don't mind the strict rules because they are well disciplined. I will also state a fact that China is a member of the Human Rights Council and the US is not. And also what I've said before they will not export their rules as the US does. And also where are you from? From Spain? Why are you even discussing what's happening in my country, that is our thing we will see, as I said the most important factor is protecting nature, and also If you watched the video you can clearly see that this plan was made before China even became a Global power. The biggest problem with your opinion to me is that you are brainwashed by the western propaganda machine like so many others, your minds aren't developed to think on their own, you watch a video or a documentary and assume that every word is true and you just follow the narrative of that documentary, you probably watched Death by China documentary.

[@pepperVenge]

Are you aware that _RealLifeLore_ copied this video, Virtually word for word?

[@vgt98progaming11]

yes, I saw it in the comment someone comments the original video is here

[@kofi-kun6420]

Saw it aswell. Kraut actually commented under that Vid that's how I found this channel in the first place

[@Poopdahoop]

Yooo Real Life Lore had a video on this same topic, and his intro was almost word for word the same

[@n1hondude]

I believe that’s called plagiarism 😉

[@sciencelessonswithdrnash598]

@@n1hondude I doubt it, and if it were the reallifelore plagiarized from this video since this video was released earlier

[@mikoajp.5890]

"a region of northern Greece around Salonica" gee, if only that region had a name that's easy for audience to follow... Idk, something like Macedonia?

[@Tsotsis1]

haha correct.Its the reall macedonia

[@markojovanovski3372]

Agean Macedonia yes,but he wasn't referring to that region...he just mean around Solun.

[@markojovanovski3372]

@nik ol how can you be Macedonians when you only got that region (which was inhabited by slabs btw) 100 years ago??? When my people have been calling themselves Macedonians for centuries? When I ln my passport it says "Macedonian" and not g*eek or something?

[@DacLMK]

Didn't you named that region after Thessaloniki or something?

[@wankawanka3053]

@@DacLMK nope there's Thessaly but it's a completely different region

[@Chujoi0]

Cool video

[@forjw2google135]

good info/analysis no politics 👍👍👍👍👍

[@thefutureisnowoldman7653]

China: Builds international infrastructure American: Who even needs electricity

[@ultracapitalistutopia3550]

To be fair, "we are the first and now we are the worst." Old infrastructure cannot be easily upgraded or replaced in a snap, but the lack of commitment does hurt.

[@Finnnicus]

@@ultracapitalistutopia3550 other countries have old infrastructure too, the US is just way behind on maintenance (and building new stuff)

[@davisdelp8131]

@@Finnnicus but not as big a vast as the USA infrastructure

[@chaosXP3RT]

Texas has its own power grid not subject to federal regulation or funding

[@ryanschrum9872]

@@Finnnicus the us is a massive nation. The only place in the country where it is failing is in Texas because they have their own power grid

[@simonindra3225]

Thessaloniki Munich would be a great one .nice idea

[@dr_zyzz]

Your channel will boom

[@adamp.3739]

To be fair, a 30m width of canal could sustain a flow of two ships at a 14.5m width. Most ships of this width are around ~100m long. This is rather small for a ship, but mind you even a small ship can carry a surprising amount of cargo. So I can see where China is coming from with the channel idea. Personally I would suggest passing places where the canal widens by 10 metres for larger ships to pass through

[@huiouyang2003]

Boss: The Serbian government invited the Chinese government to dig this canal! All the initial ideas should be put forward by the Serbian government first. However, it is not a big deal for Chinese engineering companies and engineers to dig a little wider.

[@Tanisaykut]

Turkey also has non stop railway projects for transporting cargo all the way from Asia to Europe including undersea railway crossings, besides building a new canal to reduce current sea traffic. Unless EU decides to build a wormhole from China to somewhere in EU, Turkey will still be the one who is offerring much preffered and cheaper options.

[@IRAwhiskey]

They're talking about building cities here in Ireland, not sure who for...

[@tedcrilly46]

load of shite.

[@IRAwhiskey]

@lee Yuri Its for Hong Kong citizens apparently, I havent read much about it but there are articles online, No idea why we would be getting such a big influx of chinese people here in Ireland though..

[@rbspider]

What happens to water levels in the Danube if it has a different path to get to the sea. What undid the Erie canal through New York?

[@wakandaforever2401]

I feel like it would have major progress at first, then slow down and never really get finished. Like with what is happening with the the port in Pakistan that was SUPPOSED to be China's direct route to the Indian Ocean. Yet it still stands unfinished even though it was supposed to be done years ago.

[@aaronsharp1284]

Well uno what China’s like they build stuff like they in a Lego game, skyscrapers hospitals...

[@observeoutofthebox7806]

@@aaronsharp1284 and the reality is it's better than what corporations have been doing with their factories and offices. At least it brings in some thing

[@goodiezgrigis]

Yeah, this will not really go trough anytime soon. There are ports in Adriatic (Trieste, Koper, Pula, Rijeka) that are getting connected with better rail system from south to north right now. And EU is actually preferring that as it is cheaper and faster.

[@fazzxides8429]

Will the “rich markets of Western Europe”still exist by the time this project is completed can be the subject of another video

[@pedrobarbosaduarte3704]

Pls increase the volume

[@lexneuron]

You have been inhaling some stuff, and very deep! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@sevasthvostanski5588]

France and Germany have made it clear that there will be no accession to the EU plus Germany insists it will no longer support the Greek economy so I do not understand why it opposes this plan. According to the plan, the benefits go to Serbia, Greece and Northern Macedonia, the EU does not lose anything and gets a new transport route, if the EU does not want China to gain influence, let it invest money in the project,unless the development and enrichment of these three states is in the interest of someone from the EU and the US

[@xekourdistolemoni]

Point is they do not want to invest in the balkans since the EU does not think the way it did 30 years ago, pouring money and knowledge into countries to integrate them. Such projects with shipping through Italy and Greece would leave the northern ports and especially the Netherlands dissatisfied... It is clearly cheaper not only in terms of transportation but even in labor costs to use southern European ports. They just don't want to because many jobs would move southwards. It should happen since the economy is supposedly free,but the EU is a protectionist entity mainly serving the interests of northern EU capital and well paid unionized workers... Shitty wages are a big advantage of the southern EU and the balkans, yet it seems there are hinders...

[@matteoburchi6122]

@@xekourdistolemoni or maybe it's because they are focused on different projects like expanding and connect better the european railway systems in a way that makes trade inside the EU cheaper, eaysier and ecological neutral. The projects are already in action thanks to the "next generation eu" plan

[@BytesAndBites]

10/10 Great Channel for Geo Politics 🤗

[@BytesAndBites]

@Pedro Martins João honestly I'm a bit puzzled how my comment translated into a catalyst for you to write this comment.

[@dusanurosevic1202]

8:10 my home city :)

[@cabreraseven]

Do it!!!

[@JJ-ts6zo]

imo $17 billion is really not that much for china or any major economic power. Even Russia spent $50 billion on winter olympics.

[@thecringekid5744]

You missed the fact that most vessels don't sail on the Danube directly,, they first go through the Danube-Black Sea canal in Romania

[@uraoshi]

It's strange. I am fishing regularly on the Danube for over five years, sometimes one week in a row, and only bulk minerals, coal, sometimes wood and leisure ships pass on it. Never seen the ubiquitous shipping containers. So, it seems the Danube is never used for such purposes of shipping finite goods.

[@eljanrimsa5843]

@@uraoshi container ships usually go to the big container ports (which are sea ports) and the containers are transported by rail or road to their end destination. bulk carriers use rivers and canals to transport raw materials to industrial centers. they don't look as impressive, but they carry much bigger loads cheaper than rail or road ever could.

[@davidvanniekerk356]

Dankie/ Merci. I hope the cannel will be buit. The one way or another...

[@davidvanniekerk356]

@Pedro Martins João .Thx Pedro. OK, this channel is in Europe. And if it is a death drapp. So why will the EU not finance it? The channel will be in the EU intrest. One thing is for sure. The ppl who stay there are on so wealthy. If China is willing to pay and give a loan. Why would they so no? Who knows what the future holds. Maybe the US and China get in a war...

[@Basieeee]

I wish this was as funny irl as you make it sound in this video.

[@albumine7777]

Damn your channel recently blew up, and RealLifeLore already stealing your videos "China's Insane Plan to Dig a Canal Across the Balkans "

[@avocadokirby1517]

Epic I came to see if anyone mentioned this

[@crkcrk702]

Real life for is dumb quality and he just reads things on the internet

[@blagoevski336]

Nice

[@igormac9431]

Sho be nice! Prvo.majmunov celo vreme severna makedonija ne vikam jako zivot da mu zavisi od toa. Drugo, kanalot bi bil.katastrofa za.makedonija. fala bogu shto e teshko ostvarliv.

[@dacho707]

@@igormac9431 nejke grcite da gi najluti haha ma da kanalot, ako se izveden na prav nachin bi imal mn polza za makedonija

[@Rilerisl]

Hej ive been to that bridge in Cuprija

[@adamyerima5254]

nice vid

[@Darkvibe189]

Make a vedio on India China conflict

[@alberttroychan4264]

God I love your artstyle

[@bizu08]

Can someone explain this to me? the rivers flow into two different directions, how can you "connect" them?

[@vuksrb1480]

There us complex system of damns used already for century around world. UK even more in past. Nothing new really.

[@alperenkeles7566]

bro where are u from

[@VojislavMoranic]

God cant wait for this Corona bussines to be over so i can head over to North Greece for a Godly Gyros and Metaxa. I miss Greeks.

[@jimenezablain]

We are all eagerly looking forward to the realization of the great economic an infrastrucrure project. 塞尔维亚多感谢你们 !

[@dr.manofculture1492]

It's gonna be interesting to read about china collapsing due to meddling in the balkans

[@sidneysun3865]

@@dr.manofculture1492 in books, China has been collapsing since the 90s. Yet here we are. Good dreaming.

[@muratilyassov9155]

looking at the map of the region looks like it is easier to connect Danube with Adriatic sea rather than with Aegean one

[@military0f21stcentury2]

Music name pls