Useful to avoid the mob and easy to defend militarily I guess.
> Some international financing has been secured for rail links, and a $3 billion Chinese loan has helped fund the business district, built by China State Construction Engineering Corp (CSCEC).
When the east does it → foreign invasion
It's actually a bit of both.
A few of my friends from Myanmar are descendants of Chinese families, they say that whenever they read Chinese online forums, they see this selfish/apathetic approach (only my business/my money/my family/my race matters) again and again. I think a lot of people in China are brainwashed to see both sides and they are now conditioned to take the side of "the west is always blaming us" (which is partly true, but partly false as all things go in life).