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The Indian Pundit Who Created the Discredited Chinese “Debt Trap” Meme is Still Convinced He’s Right

by Eric Olander

The creator of the widely-debunked Chinese “debt trap” meme is at it again with a new litany of breathless warnings about the risks developing countries take on when they borrow money from China. 

Indian pundit Brahma Chellaney on Tuesday published a new article on the topic in the normally dependable academic publishing site Project Syndicate. His piece was riddled with inaccuracies. Repeated factual errors aside, Challeney’s writing is important because it buttresses many of the powerful Indian and Western narratives that frame Chinese engagement in the Global South.

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