The BRI is bad, but it has no worthy competitor

Ideas that can compete with the Chinese programme need more money to succeed

Aministry of external affairs (MEA) study has found that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s flagship connectivity programme, is facing headwinds in the entire region. The story of Sri Lanka is now well known. The island country has become an exemplar of all that is wrong with BRI. The former President Mahinda Rajapaksa moved close to Beijing and obtained loans for infrastructure projects in the country. The projects never earned enough returns to enable Colombo to pay back the loans.

But Sri Lanka’s isn’t the only story, as the MEA study points out. A Chinese firm is facing corruption charges in Bangladesh; there is backlash against Kyaukphyu-kunming gas pipeline in Myanmar; and a Chinese hydropower project was scrapped in Nepal. A number of projects under the China-pakistan Economic Corridor, a part of BRI, too have come under the scanner notwithstanding close China-pakistan ties. The problem stems from the design of the programme. The capital is directed into projects from which the leader of the country which is taking the loan can reap political rewards. For example, Hambantota is the political base of Mr Rajapaksa. The loans are linked to source materials being imported from China itself. A large number of workers, too, are Chinese. The local economy benefits little.

New Delhi did well to not join the BRI bandwagon despite commentators warning that India would be isolated. In fact, a number of other countries, including the US, Japan and Australia, have come around to accept that position. India and Japan are coordinating on their own programme — the Asia-africa Growth Corridor. The US, Australia and Japan have announced an alternative to BRI as well. But the amounts behind these initiatives pale in comparison to the $900 billion BRI. Talk is cheap, it is time to put money behind these ideas.