Op-Ed: Beijing uses infrastructure as friendly forerunner of political power (The Sydney Morning Herald)

By Peter Hartcher

Do you see a pattern here?

The Chinese Communist Party built a road into Tibet and the Tibetans were excited - it was their first highway: "We were promised peace and prosperity with the highway, and our parents and grandparents joined in building the road," as the president of Tibet's government in exile, Lobsang Sangay, tells the story.

...

Already, in this very early phase of Belt and Road, new Chinese lending is exposing eight countries to risk of financial distress, according to a report by the Centre for Global Development, a US-based non-profit think tank.

​Read the full article here.