Why it's unfair to accuse China of debt-trap diplomacy

Friedrich Wu For The Straits Times
People hold Chinese flags while having their pictures taken at the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, China. PHOTO: REUTERS
  • Published
    Feb 24, 2018, 5:00 am SGT
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Since Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled in 2013 his country's ambitious, multitrillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the bold proposal of what McKinsey calls "the world's largest economic platform" has attracted worldwide attention.

However, some detractors in Asia and the West are looking upon China's gargantuan blueprint as the most audacious challenge yet to America's global primacy.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 24, 2018, with the headline 'Why it's unfair to accuse China of debt-trap diplomacy'. Subscribe
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