Punishing defaulting countries would damage China’s image in places the BRI was intended to help
a year ago, at a gathering in Beijing of world leaders who had signed up to his Belt and Road Initiative , China’s president, Xi Jinping, peppered his speech with proverbs. “The ceaseless inflow of rivers makes the ocean deep,” was one—a reference to how his scheme, involving huge spending on infrastructure in other countries, would promote the global flow of goods, capital and technology and with them, economic growth. Amid the pandemic, many countries may be wishing this were so.
This presents problems for China’s leaders in the realms of economics, diplomacy and politics at home, where theis closely linked with the prestige of Mr Xi. First, there will be financial losses. Many countries raise the cash forprojects by exporting commodities. But the pandemic has hit demand for them.
to saddle countries with debt and thereby gain control of infrastructure that could help it strategically. “If they thought they were facing a backlash now, it would be really severe for them” if they were to seize collateral, says Scott Morris of the Centre for Global Development, a think-tank in Washington. China may decide to tread warily. Until the global economy recovers, there will certainly be fewer newprojects.
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