An interesting read from FT AlphaVille:

“China is the world’s biggest lender to governments. And that’s not just because of its gigantic stockpile of US Treasuries. For much of the past decade Beijing has sought to plug massive infrastructure funding gaps across multiple continents through its Belt and Road Initiative. The overarching aim, other than to bolster global influence, is to upgrade transport links on the old silk road routes which enabled trade between the Far East and what lay to the west of it.” More HERE at FT. You may have to register (for free) to read this article.

Supporting articles: How China Lends Data Sets from AidData and How China Lends PDF from The Peterson Institute for International Economics.