“they thought they’d be getting access to a booming new market, billions of dollars worth of contracts and the cachet of creating the most ambitious rapid rail system in history?”
Really? They were that niave? The Chinese cheated and re-cheated so many others, so many times, but they’ll respect us, surely...
With the help of Hollywood, W. C. Fields said it--once and for all, for all eternity:
"Never give a sucker an even break."