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Study finds China’s Belt and Road linked to better governance and lower debt risk
Researchers analyzed data from 197 countries and regions from 2000 to 2023, including 146 that signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with China.
A study using data from 197 countries and regions from 2000 to 2023 suggests China’s Belt and Road Initiative is associated with improvements in governance, economic development, and corruption control, according to researchers at Nanjing University.
SCMP Economy reports the team found the trade and investment program, which spans Africa, Asia, Europe and beyond, was also linked to reduced debt risks, challenging prominent criticisms that the initiative is a “debt trap” or a “road of corruption.”
The study, led by Mao Weizhun of Nanjing University’s Centre for Asia-Pacific Development Studies, analyzed observations covering 146 countries that signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with China and 135 countries where Belt and Road infrastructure projects had been launched or completed.
The researchers published their findings in the peer-reviewed Chinese journal Quarterly Journal of International Politics in late July, in response to critics who have raised concerns about transparency, unsustainable debt, labor conditions, environmental damage, and use of projects for Beijing’s influence.