This morning, the BBC news featured a commentary from one of their correspondents reporting from the Laos/China border. One the Chinese side of the border are massive plantations of rubber trees. These trees do not satisfy the needs of China. So, apropos previous blog posts, the Chinese government has been in conversation with Laotian officials. The latter have agreed to supply the Chinese with land to expand their rubber tree plantings. The Laotian government seconded the lands of Laotian villages along the border where farmers owned the land and grew rice. One villager pointed out that the plantations are so vast it will take a million people to work on them.....there are not enough Laotians, he pointed out, so it will have to be Chinese workers.......
