China should beware what it wishes for

(May 19): To Indian eyes, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s big Belt and Road Forum – which attracted 29 heads of government and representatives of 130 countries – looked awfully familiar. It looked, in fact, like an imperial durbar – the sort of grand spectacle that the British in India used to arrange periodically, with princelings from across the subcontinent turning up to pay their respects to the Raj.

Many, of course, would contest this comparison. The Belt and Road initiative, China's grand plan to build trade-supporting infrastructure across the world, is being sold as a cooperative enterprise. Partner governments will, of course, have a say in what projects are approved and under what financial terms.

Even so, there are good reasons for disquiet. For one thing, the whole poorly-defined initiative might fail, burdening weak nations with unsustainable debt and stressing the Chinese economy. But even otherwise, it might ensnare China and its client states in something that will look perilously like a 21st century empire.

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