One Belt One Road What the Chinese learned from Victorian era British
China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) policy has taken the center stage of global politics in recent times.Dubbed as the modern silk route connecting the East and West. Its an initiative by China by lending money to countries for infrastructure projects for a long term minimal interest loans covering 60 counties. Countries use the money to develop infrastructure and expect to pay back the loan through the revenue from the infrastructure built. When the plan fails it spirals the entire economy of the country into a disaster, This ends in a simple way of leasing or lending the infrastructure to China in return for the loan payment. This is better coined as
“Debt Trap Diplomacy”
Lets take the example of Sri Lanka which got a loan of 361 million from EXIM bank of the People’s Republic of China to construct a Port of Hambatota in its southern region. The Colombo port is busy so the government thought a second port can ease the traffic and bring in revenue.Construction started on January 2008 and was completed by November 2010. Hambatota port was not making enough revenue as thought and the government ended by taking the revenue from Colombo port and paying the Chinese banks for the interest.In 2017 it was decided that the port will be leased to a Chinese merchant company for 99 years lease period to get wavier…
