Narratives about China’s debt colonialism seek to suffocate development

A few years ago, no one would have thought that China’s role in the global economy would be what it is today. The architect of China’s market-led reforms, Deng Xiaoping, shifted the Chinese economy from a centrally-planned to a market-oriented economy, which is credited for the rapid economic and social development the country has experienced.

China’s sustained growth has lifted more than 800 million Chinese out of poverty in the past 40 years – providing key learning lessons to developing countries. World Bank reports show that China’s GDP growth has averaged 10 per cent a year, making it the fastest sustained expansion by a major economy in history. With a population of 1.4 billion, China is the second largest economy in the world and is increasingly playing an important and influential role in the global economy.