[koolba]

> Behind the scenes is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help. On top of that is the recent discovery that borrowers have been required to put cash in hidden escrow accounts that push China to the front of the line of creditors to be paid.

This is the part of “belt and road” where they beat you with the belt.

[crop_rotation]

And then bulldoze you on the road :D

[foverzar]

> which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help

I wonder what "stepping in to help" is supposed to mean in this context.

Also, "found paying back that debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel". No shit, servicing debts requires money, who could have thought. If only everyone could just print more money like the US does to service it's loans (oh wait, it seems like it no longer can do that!)

[ianburrell]

People talk about "belt and road" being soft power, but that sounds ineffective soft power.

The problem for China is that countries won't be cooperating willingly. The moment shooting war starts between China and US, the countries will nationalize anything sold to China, default on the loans, and call the US asking them to take over the bases.

One problem China has is that they think the US is forcing other countries to be allies and enforce their hegemony. This leads them to think that they need to act same way and coerce other countries into their sphere. US is more subtle, using "soft power", mutual interest, and limited coercion. The US also doesn't care about most of the world beyond companies having access.

[49erfangoniners]

And then take your roads, which were collateral