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Chinese Scholar on Why Railway Financing Makes Sense for Beijing, Despite Criticism

by Eric Olander
File image of Indonesia's high speed railway that was built and financed by China. TIMUR MATAHARI / AFP

Chinese-financed railways in Asia and Africa have sparked enormous controversies over whether it was wise for countries like Kenya, Indonesia, Nigeria and Laos to put themselves in so much debt for infrastructure that will take decades to become profitable, if it ever does.

While a lot of stakeholders in these countries have raised those concerns, Chinese officials and scholars are especially piqued when these barbs come from critics in the U.S. and Europe.

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