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.
Not really. “Transition state” stuff aside there’s nothing inherently wrong with loaning resources for infrastructure programs.
Where it goes sticky is the interest rates and defaults.
People have largely assumed China was just doing the same neo-colonialism the West was, because they just can’t fathom the idea of not exploiting the vulnerable.
Now we will see if they’re right. And even then it’s perfectly Marxist…
Remembering that Marxism explicitly allows conquest as “liberation of the proletariat,” which can easily include American-style permanently leased foreign ports.