Seventy-five percent of China’s over $1.1 trillion loans to low- and middle-income countries will have entered their repayment period by 2030. How is China changing its global involvement to deal with this debt? The goals of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have evolved since its inception in 2013, partially in response to rising criticism about lax environmental standards and the so-called “China debt trap.” How is China addressing scrutiny over the BRI’s environmental and social impacts, debt repayment setbacks, and other challenges?
In an interview recorded on July 8, 2024, Ammar A. Malik, senior research scientist at AidData, joins the National Committee to review the evolution of the Belt and Road Initiative’s goals and China’s global influence.
Ammar A. Malik
Dr. Ammar A. Malik is Senior Research Scientist at AidData, where he leads the Chinese Development Finance Program. His team develops pioneering methods, such as the Tracking Underreported Financial Flows (TUFF) methodology, to track and analyze underreported financial flows from non-traditional donors to developing countries.