[rchaud]

> Credit rating is dinged: In the eyes of the lenders that debt trapped you. Why would you still want to be rated well by them?

Chinese loans don't have the strings that IMF loans come with. The latter will usually make the loan conditional on reforming monetary/fiscal policy changes and even business law. For example, the loan might require a lowering of trade or investment barriers for foreign investors, and it would be rationalized as a way to make the economy more dynamic. Or make it more vulnerable to the whims of international capital movements.