Major Singapore newspaper Sinchew recently reported that, based on a U.S. think tank study, China’s grand “The Belt and Road Initiative” which pushes infrastructure work across Eurasia has largely contracted out work to Chinese bidders. Among the 34 current projects in Europe and Asia, around 89 percent have been contracted to Chinese construction companies and only 11 percent have been given to contractors from other countries. This dramatic difference made the lofty tone of the Belt and Road Initiative look questionable, especially when China is counting on the Plan to win friends in over 70 countries. International analysts have expressed their concern about this China-centric approach, since more and more countries are rethinking their support for the grand Chinese Plan. Compared to the Chinese way of favoring its own contractors, contracts that the West has funded, typically under the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are more neutral toward the bidders and the grants have been more diversified. The study showed that 41 percent of these grants were given to local contractors, 29 percent went to Chinese contractors, and 30 percent went to a bidder from a third country.
Source: Sinchew, January 25, 2018
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