If you can't build shiet, Chinese will build it. If you cannot ran shiet, Chinese will ran it. I don't see how that is bad thing. If we hand over say LAMU port to Chinese..it doesn't mean it been annexed to China. Lamu port will remain under kenya laws...just being operated by China.
China as you rightly say have huge forex and huge construction & manufacturing machine - only a fool won't take advantage of it. US has been taking advantage of it and when they started screwing up the chinese by printing dollars (QE) - Chinese have to think about alternative investment and that could be us!!!
SGR is not white elephant - let deal with facts.
China has developed by doing exactly what they are trying to help other countries. Building new rails, cities, ports....when everyone was out there saying..ohoo that is not sustainable..ohoo why do you need bullet trains? why do you need huge cities....but look at china now.
Chinese are very smart and very hardworking. Only a fool would listen to western world when evidence of Chinese miracle is there to see.
Now China are working towards become a developed world - avoiding middle class traps - by not banking their dollars at home - and that is the money that is crying for anyone to take it. We need to grab it. China has trillion of dollars waiting for anyone with half-arsed proposal and they could be coming out with shiny airports, ports, railways, cities and name it.