Report: China's Belt and Road loans are putting borrowers and Chinese banks in danger | DW news

For a decade, China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative has been a prominent lever of its trade and foreign policies: By funding major infrastructure projects around the world, Beijing can help its own companies and improve relations with countries far and wide.
A new study reveals that China has been spending hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out the countries involved in the Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The study shows China's loans are issued to save its own banks.
China is tightening its financial grip on developing countries through its Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing has issued hundreds of billion dollars worth of rescue loans to bailout countries that have struggled to repay loans spent building "Belt and Road" infrastructure, according to a new study by the World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School, AidData and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

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[spencerkimble]

Loaning Argentina large amounts of money is always a good idea

[shubashuba]

If the Belt and Road initiative made financial sense, private corporations would have been competing against China for these investments. The fact that China has been able to gobble up all these infrastructure investments means that either the Chinese government is subsidizing the investment or there was no competition for these investments because there is no return on investment.

[tko]

These "developments" are not free. These are debt traps. National lands and mining rights are also given to the Chinese.

[EverettBurger]

I assumed they didn't expect the loans to be paid back with money, but mineral rights

[robertlee]

Please do not China, China, China all the times. Please worry about your own banks.

[mljbhri]

Also, a important point that was missed out was this- everytime an entity defaults, that property comes under the control of China. So actually, they are buying those properties across countries. They are not losing. Not sure why this key point was missed by this channel!

[aquaman]

China’s version of predatory loans but on developing countries

[Archr]

So, is Argentina helping Western countries by crippling China's banking system? Just because a country is in debt, if they collapse, would they even honour the agreement when they rebuild?
As they say, if you owe the bank $10, 000, that's your problem; if you owe the bank $10, 000, 000, that's the banks problem; but if a country owes the bank $10b, that's the government's problem

[arfajob]

1:59 So why all the secrecy over loan agreements and contractual responsibilities emanating from these socalled mutually beneficial weddings. And what is with all the bailouts anyway? Didn't China banks do their "due diligence" on customers ability to pay? How bizarre. 🙄🙄

[advancetotabletop]

Forget Taiwan. I want to see what happens when China sends in troops to countries that demand they leave.

[bellohadiza]

Nothing can stop the progress of belt & road initiatives it would continue wether the west like or not, Great China and the rest of the whole world would succeed period .

[Marc-.]

I don’t think it’s any of your business

[git_r_done_]

A country rich enough to loan out hundreds of billions of dollars to other countries can't possibly be considered itself as a "developing country", wouldn't you agree?

[derekfoust]

The “debt-trap” theory is concocted by Brahma Chellaney, an Indian geopolitical strategist. The “debt-trap” theory is concocted by Indians, and popularized by Americans. They concoct this theory to demonize China, Chinese and BRI projects/loans. India, US, along with EU, fear losing their dominance and control over other countries which may result from these projects. Such fears are based on their selfish and geopolitical interests.
However, people from all over the world, especially from developing countries have acknowledged the needs and the actual benefits of these projects/loans. They know from their first-hand experience that there is no debt-trap. Academics and researchers have reviewed these projects, and have debunked the debt-trap theory.

[bookertee]

Take a look at the poorly built road in Montenegro. The road cost over a billion euros and left Montenegro in debt. Some parts were environmental disasters.

[tucoramirez]

What surprises me is that China thought they could do better with these basket case nations than the British, French, Spanish or whatever Empires?

[jumahadj]

Leave China alone . We all depend on China including the US

[crimsonhalo]

When knew that predatory loans have consequences?

[mikeliu]

😂 china doesn’t need Germany’s input to how to manage finance. Lol

[kirovfactory]

whatever the enemy opposes, China should double the effort in doing it