Perspective - BRI: China's Debt Trap

In this episode of the Perspective Prog. based on BRI: China's Debt Trap. With annual international development finance commitments hovering around 85 billion dollars a year, China is outspending the U.S. and other major powers on a 2-to-1 basis or more. China is using debt rather than aid to establish a dominant position in the international development finance market. What is more alarming is that its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is plunging nations into massive debt. A recent study by development research lab AidData has uncovered details of the problem, pointing out that 42 countries now have levels of public debt to China in excess of 10% of their GDP. The report says that these debts are systematically underreported to the World Bank’s Debtor Reporting System (DRS) because, in many cases, central government institutions in Low and Middle Income Countries are not the primary borrowers responsible for repayment. In addition to handling these hidden debts, 35% of China's BRI infrastructure project portfolio has encountered major implementation problems, like corruption scandals, labor violations, environmental hazards, and public protests. China is now facing the BRI backlash in a growing number of countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe. While policymakers in some countries have cancelled high-profile BRI projects, others, with concerns of their own, have decided to take a second look at whether the benefits of BRI participation outweigh the risks.

Guests:
1- Srikanth Kondapalli, Professor, Center For East Asian Studies, SIS, JNU
2- Suresh K. Goel, Former Ambassador
3- Prof. Harsh V. Pant, Head, Strategic Studies Programme, ORF

Anchor: Vishal Dahiya

Producer: Amit Srivastav, Sagheer Ahmad