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Developing countries owe China at least $1.1 trillion – and the debts are due (edition.cnn.com)

submitted 7 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

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Developing countries owe Chinese lenders at least $1.1 trillion, according to a new data analysis published Monday, which says more than half of the thousands of loans China has doled out over two decades are due as many borrowers struggle financially.

Overdue loan repayments to Chinese lenders are soaring, according to AidData, a university research lab at William & Mary in Virginia, which found that nearly 80% of China’s lending portfolio in the developing world is currently supporting countries in financial distress.

For years, Beijing marshalled its finances toward funding infrastructure across poorer countries – including under an effort that Chinese leader Xi Jinping branded as his flagship “Belt and Road Initiative,” which launched a decade ago this fall.

That funding flowed liberally into roads, airports, railways and power plants from Latin America to Southeast Asia and helped power economic growth among borrowing countries. Along the way, it drew many governments closer to Beijing and made China the world’s largest creditor, while also sparking accusations of irresponsible lending.

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[-] prole@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Great jokes and all, but the Belt and Road Initiative has been a pretty smart and successful tactical move to consolidate soft power in Africa and other developing regions, and ensuring that their governments are beholden to Beijing for the foreseeable future.

And they did it all without mobilizing a single troop, but rather by making people's lives better.

Not a fan of China, and it's obvious that the Belt and Road Initiative is 100% a debt trap, but I gotta give them credit for pulling it off.

This is definitely much deeper into the grey zone than the US's (or "the West" in general) past dalliances in colonialism which were far more black and white, and straight up horrific

[-] YeetPics@mander.xyz 0 points 7 months ago

I wasn't aware I was joking.

this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2023

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