CHINA-INDIA: CPEC
An article by Xiao Xin, a reporter with Global Times
on May 3, 2017, criticised a recent article in the Economic Times which claimed
that "the "One Belt and
One Road" initiative, which aims to facilitate joint prosperity across the
countries and regions along the route, was presented as offering benefits only
to China while setting a trap for countries in South Asia. Sri Lanka and
Pakistan, in particular, were billed as two obtuse nations that have fallen
into a huge debt trap as they were purportedly burdened with heavy loans from
Chinese lenders asking for high interest rates". Asserting
that "the article only hints at India's excessive nervousness about
China's rising clout in the Indian Ocean", it said "it's truly
ridiculous to assume that its two neighbors Sri Lanka and Pakistan would be so
naïve that they would prefer unbearably hefty loans from China to more
affordable loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank or India's
Line of Credit." It said "Rather than fanning skepticism toward
China, India should seek to build joint strength across the region".
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