Report: Chinese building projects narrowing economic gaps

A wave of Chinese-financed railways and other trade links in Africa and Asia that have prompted worries about debt and Beijing's ambitions is reducing politically dangerous inequality between regions within countries, a multinational group of researchers said Tuesday.

The study led by AidData at the College of William & Mary in Virginia strikes a positive note at a time when governments from Washington to Moscow to New Delhi are uneasy about Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative.

The study of 3,485 projects in 138 nations across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East in 2000-14 found they led to a more equal distribution of economic activity by improving access to jobs and markets. It said that helps reduce economic differences that "elevate the risk of violent unrest."
"Western pundits and politicians often claim that Beijing is a reckless, self-serving or sinister actor," said AidData's executive director, Bradley C Parks, in an email. But by helping to spread economic activity more evenly, "Beijing's investments address one of the root causes of instability around the globe and thus make it easier for Western powers to tackle other global threats and crises."