The speakers argue that the available evidence suggests that: economic factors are the primary driver of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); China’s development financing system is too fragmented and poorly coordinated to pursue detailed strategic objectives; and developing-country governments and their associated political and economic interests co-determine the nature of BRI projects on their territory.
They highlight the cases of Sri Lanka and Malaysia, arguing that their most controversial BRI projects have been shaped by domestic agendas and that these countries’ debt problems have arisen mainly from the misconduct of local elites and Western-dominated financial markets.
This event launches the publication Debunking the Myth of ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’: How Recipient Countries Shape China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
