China denies Belt and Road Initiative ‘debt trap lie’ as infrastructure spending tops US$1 trillion

China has worked with almost 150 countries and spent US$1 trillion as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative to open cross-border trade routes while placing no one in a “debt trap” despite accusations from the United States, according to its foreign ministry.

The government has signed belt and road “cooperation documents” with 149 countries and 32 international organisations as of July 4, while taking on 3,000 projects, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.

The initiative, which is now in its ninth year, offers Chinese support, often through major state-backed enterprises, for roads, airports, seaports and other infrastructure that smooths trade in goods.

Projects began in Asia and extended into Europe before covering parts of Africa and the Americas, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused China of creating a “debt trap”.

“The so-called Chinese debt trap is a lie made up by the US and some other Western countries to deflect responsibility and blame,” Wang said.