Key Takeaways From AidData’s New Report on How China’s Finances the BRI

AidData, the development research lab at William & Mary College in Virginia, published a landmark report this week that provides the most comprehensive overview to date of Chinese financing of projects along the Belt and Road. Researchers pored through 13,247 projects in 165 countries worth $843 billion from 2000 through 2017.

The report sparked a torrent of media coverage this week, mostly on the news about $385 billion of so-called “hidden debts.”

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