New Debt Rrap: China Allegedly Mounts Pressure on Nepal with BRI Offer

The Chinese government has been accused of coercing Nepal, a landlocked South Asian country, into joining its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The allegation was contained in a fresh report by an online magazine Epardafas which claimed the Asian giant is luring Nepal with eye-catching beneficiaries into the initiative.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 countries and international organizations.

It was formerly known as One Belt One Road or OBOR for short.

The report by the Kathmandu-based organisation, however, claimed the Himalayan country is yet to give in to China which is trying to spread its influence across the coast of Asia, The Print reports.

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Nepal is said to be receiving support from the United States and India which is opposed to Chinese policies.

The Xi Jinping-led communist government is said to promote economic development and inter-regional connectivity through the BRI.

But experts said the initiative is bait for developed countries by China to put them into a debt trap.

Earlier, Nepal took a concessional loan of N 22 billion for forty years from the Exim Bank of China. Its interest rate is 2.75 per cent per annum.

In 2012, Nepal and China governments reached an agreement for the airport project. In May 2014, two years before the loan was agreed upon, China CAMC Engineering was given the construction contract, at a time when China’s BRI was in a nascent phase.

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Meanwhile, it was reported that despite its expanding influence and enviable human power, China was stuck in what finance and economy experts described as a "middle-income trap."

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This was linked to different controversies in which the country is embroiled, including human rights violations, coercion, imposition and alleged military expansionism.

With a staggering 1.4 million population, China boasts one of the most incredible economic success stories and cemented itself as one of the economic world powers.

Source: Legit.ng