Russian President Vladimir Putin is amongst many leaders in China today for the Belt and Road Initiative meeting. Other participating world leaders include Chilean President Gabriel Boric, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and several other Asian, African and Mideast leaders.
The Belt and Road Initiative is China’s program to invest in infrastructure around the world, boosting trade and growth with other nations. Western countries have criticized this program, saying it encourages struggling economies to take on debt.
In response to the idea that African nations don’t understand the debt that they are taking on, Zambian politician Akende M’membe Chundama recently said that this is “laughable.” She called that notion “Western propaganda.”
