In Debt To China, What If Countries Can’t Pay Up?

President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative (BRI), also known as the ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative is seen as a transformative global trade network, reconnecting places along the historic Silk Road trade route with new ports, highways and railroads. China has since guaranteed concessional loans to finance constructions in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port. But the #COVID19 pandemic has affected these developing countries’ ability to service its debts. Experts worry that the Belt and Road initiative is laying a debt trap for borrowing governments and in turn, causing a huge debt burden for China. Will the Belt and Road initiative be able to come to fruition given the current economic climate?