China is owed more than US$1 trillion in Belt and Road debt, says report

Beijing says upwards of 150 countries, stretching from Uruguay to Sri Lanka, have signed up to the BRI. - PHOTO: Reuters

BEIJING (AFP): China is owed more than a trillion dollars through its Belt and Road project, making it the biggest debt collector in the world, a report said this week, with an estimated 80 percent of the loans supporting countries in financial distress.

Beijing says upwards of 150 countries stretching from Uruguay to Sri Lanka have signed up to the BRI, a vast global infrastructure push unveiled by President Xi Jinping a decade ago.