WASHINGTON — Representatives from more than 150 countries began to gather in Beijing on Friday for a grand forum to celebrate China’s grand Belt and Road Initiative. — a vast, worldwide web of infrastructure-development projects mostly funded or sponsored by the Chinese government — has generated both tremendous enthusiasm and tremendous anxiety. Others accuse China of using B.R.I. as a way to flex its economic muscle for political gain on the sly. Yes, debt is on the rise in the developing world, and Chinese overseas lending is, for the first time, a part of the story.

Source: International New York Times April 26, 2019 09:56 UTC