Is China’s Development Finance a Challenge to the International Order?

China is a major funder of developing country infrastructure, lending $40 billion annually through policy banks. Lending does not favor the belt and road above other regions. China’s lending is indifferent to risk, that is, it is uncorrelated with indices of political stability and rule of law. Some major borrowers with poor governance are beginning to have debt sustainability problems, while other borrowers are in good fiscal shape. Chinese banks have been reluctant to follow global environmental norms but seem to be evolving in that direction. Chinese actions seem more a revision of the global system than a challenge to it.