Some see malevolence in China’s “Belt and Road” lending
are drilling their way through the green hills of Laos, clearing a path for a railway that one day may traverse South-East Asia. Each time they complete a tunnel—at least three times in the past month—they hold a brief ceremony, waving Chinese flags for the cameras. They are celebrating not just their engineering success but also the evidence before them that the Belt and Road Initiative , China’s global infrastructure-building scheme, is making progress. The full railway is a long way off.
An oft-cited example of China’s supposedly predatory approach involves Hambantota, a Sri Lankan port which has flopped commercially. In 2017 Sri Lanka handed control of the port to a state-owned Chinese company on a 99-year lease. But Deborah Brautigam of Johns Hopkins University says that of more than 3,000 China-financed projects that she and others have tracked, Hambantota is the only one that is used in support of the debt-trap theory. It is the exception, not the rule.
It is welcome that China is supporting hard-up nations. But its enthusiasm generates foolhardiness. David Dollar of the Brookings Institution in Washington has found that Chinese development lending appears indifferent to political and economic risks. The Centre for Global Development has identified eight countries drowning in red ink that could be further swamped bycountries based on measures such as the quality of their financial regulation and their openness to trade.
Some analysts in China have started to express unease. Economists at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a think-tank, argued in a paper last year that the government must entice other countries to backprojects in order to share the risks. Otherwise, it could be China that finds itself trapped. Conservative estimates are that China will spend $1trn within the next decade on its monumental scheme—about as much as it holds today in American government bonds.
Deutschland Neuesten Nachrichten, Deutschland Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
China seeks to allay Belt and Road debt concernsChina aims to make the Belt and Road initiative sustainable and prevent debt ris...
Weiterlesen »
China to recalibrate Belt and Road, defend scheme against criticismChina is expected to promote a recalibrated version of its Belt and Road initiat...
Weiterlesen »
China seeks to allay fears over Belt and Road debt risksChina aims to make the Belt and Road initiative sustainable and prevent debt ris...
Weiterlesen »
China aims to make Belt and Road sustainable, prevent debt risksChina aims to make the Belt and Road initiative sustainable and prevent debt ris...
Weiterlesen »
In nod to debt concerns, China Belt and Road summit to urge sustainable financingWorld leaders meeting in Beijing this week for a summit on China's Belt and...
Weiterlesen »
Belt and Road repairs fix only some potholesBeijing's gathering this week to promote its $1 trln-plus foreign policy push comes after a year of unprecedented troubles, from Pakistan to Malaysia. Under pressure, China has shown some welcome flexibility. But U.S. hostility is ramping up too; that’s far harder to pave over.
Weiterlesen »
Some see malevolence in China’s “Belt and Road” lendingBut the real worry is overreach
Weiterlesen »
Japan’s Silent Belt and Road Is Beating China’sChina’s so-called Belt and Road initiative has been the subject of relentless media coverage. But Beijing’s flagship program of outward investment in several ways has been outmatched by Japan’s near-silent efforts.
Weiterlesen »
Peru to sign MoU to join China's Belt and Road club in coming days: Chinese ambassadorPeru will sign a memorandum of understanding to join China's Belt and Road ...
Weiterlesen »
Opinion | The forgotten victims of China’s Belt and Road InitiativeOverseas Chinese workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
Weiterlesen »
China says Silk Road not geopolitical tool, understands concernsChina's Belt and Road project is not a 'geopolitical tool' or a d...
Weiterlesen »