In May 2018, scholars of the Harvard Kennedy School released a report written for the U.S. State Department on China’s ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’.
Working of its debt-trap diplomacy:
• It is all part of Beijing’s “Belt and Road” initiative – also known as “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) – a US$8 trillion plan to create a new Silk Road with sea and land links across Asia and Africa to Europe.
• Projects costing around $900 billion are currently underway or in the planning stage, paid for with billion-dollar loans from Beijing. Loans that cannot be serviced leave governments in the debt trap.
• Rather than offering grants or concessionary loans, China provides huge project-related loans at market-based rates, without transparency, much less environmental- or social impact assessments.
• To strengthen its position further, China has encouraged its companies to bid for outright purchase of strategic ports, where possible.
This story is from the June 2018 edition of Current Affairs Made Easy.
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This story is from the June 2018 edition of Current Affairs Made Easy.
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