Author swallows BRI debt-trap canard

August 3, 2025

Some interesting material here, but spoiled by the author swallowing the canard about China’s Belt and Road initiative being “better described as a debt trap” for countries taking part.

This suits the anti-China agenda of the US and others in the West, but is at odds with reality.

Any AI search will show how BRI has helped low-income nations in Africa, Southeast Asia and Central Asia build or upgrade roads, ports, rail links and power stations, helping accelerate economic activity, trade and connectivity.

Yes, there have been challenges, with for example some countries risking default, which critics call “debt-trap diplomacy”, but the evidence in most cases points to the impact of local mismanagement and global economic shocks, not the BRI concept itself.

Overall, BRI’s ability to finance critical infrastructure has been a great success in development terms. The fact that this provides some soft power reward to China seems to be the real reason critics oppose it. Savvy journalists should be aware of this and not just repeat the debt-trap trope.