China warned of risk to banks from One Belt, One Road initiative
Beijing’s plan to invest almost $1tn in infrastructure in some of the world’s poorest countries is raising concerns of risks for the Chinese banks backing the projects. Turmoil in countries such as Venezuela, where China has lent $65bn during the past decade, has led to a recalibration of the level of risk facing the One Belt, One Road project in emerging markets, experts say. President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy initiative envisions a new wave of global growth spurred by roads and rail links spanning some of the poor regions such as east India, Africa and Central Asia. It has been likened to the US Marshall Plan of the 1950s and interpreted as China’s first concerted effort to lead global development as the US, under the presidency of Donald Trump, retreats from its global role.
