Beyond the “Debt Trap”: China’s Infrastructure Investment in Southeast Asia

Yixuan Zhang ()
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Yixuan Zhang: Xiamen University, School of International Relations

A chapter in Proceedings of the 2024 2nd International Conference on Economic Management, Financial Innovation and Public Service (EMFIPS 2024), 2025, pp 594-602 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract In the dynamic landscape of Southeast Asia, the waning influence of the United States contrasts sharply with China’s burgeoning economic presence. The ambitious Belt and Road initiative has invested substantial infrastructure aid into the region, causing debates over the governance capabilities of the beneficiary states. The Lao’s Boten–Vientiane Railway and Malaysia’s East Coast Rail Link often cited for exacerbating fiscal liabilities and fostering corruption risks. This study focuses on the relation between China’s infrastructural investment and government performance within Southeast Asian nations. By analyzing these projects, it offers a novel rebuttal to common criticisms. Despite the tortuous journey of these grand infrastructural projects led by China in Southeast Asia, they have brought about significant enhancement in economic and governance capacity in the host countries.

Keywords: infrastructure; Belt and Road; China; Southeast Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:advbcp:978-94-6463-706-9_53

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DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6463-706-9_53

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