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Publications
  • February 6, 2021
  • Editorial
  • The Atlantic (website)

The Chinese Debt Trap Is a Myth: The Narrative Wrongfully Portrays Both Beijing and the Developing Countries It Deals With.

By: Deborah Brautigam and Meg Rithmire
  • Format:Electronic
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Abstract

Our research shows that Chinese banks are willing to restructure the terms of existing loans and have never actually seized an asset from any country, much less the port of Hambantota. A Chinese company’s acquisition of a majority stake in the port was a cautionary tale, but it’s not the one we’ve often heard. With a new administration in Washington, the truth about the widely, perhaps willfully, misunderstood case of Hambantota Port is long overdue.

Keywords

Financing and Loans; Developing Countries and Economies; International Relations; China

Citation

Brautigam, Deborah, and Meg Rithmire. "The Chinese Debt Trap Is a Myth: The Narrative Wrongfully Portrays Both Beijing and the Developing Countries It Deals With." The Atlantic (website) (February 6, 2021).
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About The Author

Meg Rithmire

Business, Government and the International Economy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • December 8, 2022
    • ForeignAffairs.com

    The New China Shock: How Beijing’s Party-State Capitalism Is Changing the Global Economy

    By: Margaret M. Pearson, Meg Rithmire and Kellee S. Tsai
    • December 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Snapp: Scaling Under Sanctions in Iran (A) and (B)

    By: Meg Rithmire
    • November 2022
    • Faculty Research

    OneSmart

    By: Nien-he Hsieh, Meg Rithmire and Shu Lin
More from the Authors
  • The New China Shock: How Beijing’s Party-State Capitalism Is Changing the Global Economy By: Margaret M. Pearson, Meg Rithmire and Kellee S. Tsai
  • Snapp: Scaling Under Sanctions in Iran (A) and (B) By: Meg Rithmire
  • OneSmart By: Nien-he Hsieh, Meg Rithmire and Shu Lin
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