Chinese President Xi Jinping is trying to buy an “empire” through predatory loans to poor countries around the world, according to the top U.S. diplomat.
“When China shows up with bribes to senior leaders in countries in exchange for infrastructure projects that will harm the people of that nation, then this idea of a Treasury-run empire build is something that I think would be bad for each of those countries and certainly presents risk to American interests,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt. “We intend to oppose them at every turn.”
Xi has made a “Belt and Road Initiative” — infrastructure investments on land and at sea all around the world — a central theme of his foreign policy in recent years. U.S. officials perceive the construction as a platform for the communist regime to project power around the world, especially as China gains control of strategically-located ports and railways. Beijing defends the spending as ‘win-win’ investments in locales that are not drawing Western financing.
“The U.S. has fabricated lies time and again and made irresponsible remarks out of its political needs, which is very disappointing,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said during a recent press briefing. ”The relevant country, if it had failed to serve that hope, should at least refrain from obstructing assistance provided to these developing countries by others or even serving its political ends at the cost of the benefits of the people of developing countries.”
Western officials maintain that China is engaged in predatory lending in order to gain sovereignty over the infrastructure projects when the impoverished countries fail to repay the debts. China famously financed the construction of a port in Sri Lanka, an island just south of India in the center of the Indo-Pacific region, and then took control of the facility when the island government defaulted.
