Skip to main content

Chinese ‘Debt Trap’ narratives are myth making propaganda manufactured in West

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* 

The international debt trap is a product of colonial and neo-colonial plunders, imperialist hegemony and neoliberal economic policies imposed by developed countries on developing world. The Asian, African, Latin American and even the capitalist west is suffering from debt due to the dominance of Westphalian capitalist system that controls world economic and politics. However, the reactionary and capitalist ideologues, their mouthpiece mass media, writers, journalists, consultants, think tanks, leaders and their propaganda machines are on a relentless campaign to defame, delegitimise and diminish Chinese achievements. The core idea of this consorted anti-Chinese propaganda is to undermine the alternative development model pursued by China.
The Chinese economic and political engagement in Asia, Africa and Latin America is challenging the debt dependence development model and questions the very foundation of western debt trap designed to exploit natural resources from the developing world. Debt is a political and economic tool of the western countries to control the politics and economic systems of the developing world and continue capitalist hegemony. China is a threat to such world order. From Chinese authoritarianism to Chinese debt trap campaigns are ideologically driven propaganda based on myths. There is absolutely no foundation to these campaigns. Falsehood is a norm for the survival of western hegemony over people and the planet.
The Chinese ‘Debt Trap’ narratives are myth making propaganda. The idea of debt trap diplomacy is to undermine Beijing and its relationship with developing countries. In reality, China provides three different types of loans i.e., i) interest free loan, ii) long term loan for infrastructure with minimal interests and iii) commercial loans. China even allows to restructure the terms of the existing loans based on changing economic conditions of the borrowing countries. China has never grabbed any assets of the any countries that borrowed from China. The acquisitions, investments and integrations are western business strategies in international trade, but China pursues these strategies with a difference when it comes to its lending patterns and policies for the developing countries.
China is the one of the largest official creditors with a global presence, but it never puts conditions of structural adjustments, change of labour laws or liberalisation and privatisation of their economic systems while lending. The western propaganda machine never fails to portray integration and acquisitions as Chinese dominance and debt trap. Chinese economic engagement with the developing countries fundamentally challenges the western hegemony. Therefore, Beijing is branded as an authoritarian devil that intents to colonise and dominate the world. There is no iota of truth in it, but western ideologues look at themselves in prison of their own eyes. The colonial past is a mirror, where the colonisers plays their victim card to hide their past.
The economic and political challenges faced by Asian, African and Latin American countries today are products of their colonial past and neo colonial present dominated by the United States and Western Europe. China is providing loans for infrastructure development by which the developing countries can recover from their western dependency to mobilise their own natural resources.
The African, Asian and Latin American counties are not currently under substantial Chinese debt. In fact, the share of Chinese debt in comparison to total debt to GDP ratio is very minimal. So, it is time to debunk the unfounded narratives and propaganda around Chinese debt trap diplomacy. The expansion of Chinese economic and political engagement with developing countries help in reducing their dependency on western capital, which makes western powers uncomfortable and persistently spread lies against China. This is a diversionary strategy of the western leaders to hide their political and economic failures. Falsely outsourcing of all the blame on China is not going to hide failures of capitalism and so-called western democracy. The deepening of democracy depends on a debt free world economy. It can be facilitated by politics of unity, peace, solidarity and shared prosperity. The Chinese economy and politics based on peace, cooperation, development and socialism are four pillars of Chinese alternative for the world to pursue.
A debt driven western dominance based on capitalism is not an economic or political alternative. It has failed in different stages of history. The world does not need a unipolar, bipolar and multipolar world order led by United State, China, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and India. The world politics needs to focus on people, peace and planet based on egalitarian values of liberty, justice, fraternity and citizenship rights. A people and planet centric world order is the call of the day for a sustainable tomorrow.
---
*University of Glasgow, UK

Comments

TRENDING

From snowstorms to heatwaves: India’s alarming climate shift in 2025

By Dr. Gurinder Kaur*  Climate change is no longer a future concern—it is visibly affecting every country today. Since the beginning of 2025, its effects on India have become starkly evident. These include unseasonal snowfall in hill states, the early onset of heatwaves in southern regions, a shortening spring season, and unusually early and heavy rainfall, among other phenomena.

'Incoherent, dogmatic': Near collapse of international communist movement

By Harsh Thakor*  The international communist movement today lacks coherence or organizational unity. Many groups worldwide identify as communist, Marxist-Leninist, or Maoist, but most promote dogmatism, reformism, or capitulation, using revolutionary rhetoric. Some trace their origins to historical betrayals, like Trotsky’s efforts to undermine the Soviet socialist transition or the 1976 coup in China that restored a bourgeoisie under Deng Xiaoping. Others focus on online posturing rather than mass engagement. Small communist organizations exist in places like Turkey, South Asia, and the Philippines, where Maoist-led struggles continue. No international forum unites them, and no entity can forge one.

Priced out of life: The silent crisis in India's healthcare... who pays attention, and who takes responsibility?

By Aysha*  Manisha (name changed) has been living with a disease since the birth of her third child—over ten years now—in the New Seemapuri area of North East Delhi. She visited GTB Hospital, where a doctor told her that treatment would cost ₹50,000, as the hospital would charge for the cost of an instrument that needs to be implanted in her body. Several NGOs have visited her home, yet she has received no support for treatment and continues to live with the illness. Manisha is divorced, without access to ration or pension, and lives with her three children by begging outside a temple.

Honouring Birsa Munda requires resisting the loot of natural resources

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  The legacy of Dharti Aaba Birsa Munda is inseparable from the struggle to protect indigenous land, identity, and rights. On June 9, as we commemorate Shaheed Diwas (Martyrs’ Day), it is imperative to reflect not only on his life but also on the ongoing injustices faced by tribal communities in the name of “development.”

Vishwamitri river revival? New report urges action on pollution, flood risks, wildlife protection

By A Representative  The Vishwamitri Committee, formed by the Gujarat State Human Rights Commission, has submitted two supplementary reports on June 5, 2025, detailing efforts to rejuvenate the Vishwamitri River in Vadodara, considered Gujarat's cultural capital. The reports (click here and here ) respond to directives from a May 26, 2025, GSHRC hearing. Comprising environmentalists, urban planners, and zoologists like Neha Sarwate, Rohit Prajapati, Dr. Ranjitsinh Devkar, Dr. Jitendra Gavali, and Mitesh Panchal, the committee focuses on mitigating pollution, stabilizing riverbanks, managing flood risks, and preserving biodiversity, particularly for crocodiles and turtles.

Sewer deaths 'systemic crimes' rooted in caste-based oppression, economic marginalization

By   Sanjeev Kumar*  Despite repeated government claims that manual scavenging has been abolished in India, the relentless spate of deaths among sewer and septic tank workers continues to expose a deeply entrenched reality of caste-based discrimination, systemic neglect, and institutional failure. A press release issued by the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) paints a harrowing picture of hazardous conditions faced by sanitation workers across the country—conditions that routinely lead to fatal outcomes with little to no accountability.

The only professional in Indian horse racing history to win over 1,000 races both as jockey and as trainer

By Harsh Thakor*  Pesi Shroff is perhaps the most visible face of Indian horse racing. He seamlessly carried forward the legacy of his cousin Karl Umrigar, who tragically lost his life in an accident. In many ways, Pesi became a symbolic reincarnation of Karl’s aspirations, taking Indian racing to greater heights and establishing records that remain unbroken to this day.

Mumbai jetty project: Is Colaba residential associations' outrage manufactured?

By Gajanan Khergamker   When the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) filed an affidavit before the Bombay High Court defending its long-planned public jetty project, it did more than just respond to a writ petition by a Colaba Residents Association. It exposed, albeit inadvertently, a far more corrosive phenomenon festering beneath the surface of urban civil life across India—a phenomenon where residential associations, many unregistered and some self-professed custodians of ‘public sentiment,’ conspire to stall governance under the veil of representation.

Victim to cricketing politics, Alvin Kalicharan was a most organized left handed batsman

By Harsh Thakor* On March 21st Alvin Kalicharan celebrates his 75th birthday. Sadly, his exploits have been forgotten or overlooked. Arguably no left handed batsman was technically sounder or more organized than this little man. Kalicharan was classed as a left-handed version of Rohan Kanhai. Possibly no left-handed batsmen to such a degree blend technical perfection with artistry and power.