China dismisses Bangladesh FM Kamal's criticism of BRI projects

Beijing: China on Thursday defended its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative which has evoked global criticism after Sri Lanka went bankrupt, saying its projects delivered "tangible benefits" and loans carried lower interest rates compared to western financial institutions.

The multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he came to power in 2013. It aims to link southeast Asia, central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.

China is doling out huge sums of money for infrastructure projects in countries from Asia to Africa and Europe, enhancing its global influence.

To China’s surprise, the latest criticism of BRI projects came from Bangladesh Finance Minister Mustafa Kamal who said Beijing cannot disagree with the criticism related to the projects.

“Whatever the situation is going on worldwide, everybody will be thinking twice to agree to this project (BRI),” Kamal said in an interview with the Financial Times.

“Everybody is blaming China. China cannot disagree. It’s their responsibility,” he was quoted as saying.

He said Sri Lanka’s financial crisis highlighted that China had not been rigorous enough to support projects which are viable.

Kamal said the crisis in Sri Lanka showed China should have undertaken “a thorough study” of the projects involved before lending.

“After Sri Lanka...we felt that Chinese authorities are not taking care of this particular aspect, which is very, very important,” the report quoted him as saying.

After Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Bangladesh, which is the recipient of billions of dollars of Chinese financing for the BRI projects, has sought IMF support to avoid a financial crisis.

Kamal’s criticism came days after the recent visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Bangladesh where he held talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Responding to Kamal’s comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that the prime minister and many senior officials in Bangladesh had thanked China for offering assistance and loans and welcomed the Chinese side to continue these “mutually beneficial” projects.

“I would like to stress that over a long period of time through the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has supported local governments and peoples, delivering tangible benefits, and that has been applauded by developing countries,” Wang said.

“To Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, China's loans are much lower than offered by western countries and financial institutions and they are for a long period of time, at a low-interest rate. They will only improve the welfare of the people in those countries,” he said.

China also attaches importance to the debt vulnerability of developing countries.

“In the G20, we have made the greatest efforts to ease the debt burden. In contrast, some western countries in pursuit of high returns, issue high-interest bonds in developing countries which played a great role in increasing their debt level,” he said.

They use trade barriers that impact global stability and lead to soaring energy and food prices, which made things worse for these countries, Wang said.

“Instead of reflecting upon their own behaviour, they have been blaming others and smearing China's cooperation with developing countries. We believe in front of the facts, developing countries, including Bangladesh, will come to an objective understanding and judgment,” he said.