Belt and Roadblocks: More of China's borrowers fall into distress

Indonesia worries about whether it might fall into Sri Lanka-like debt trap

20230414 Indonesia Jakarta station under construction

What appears to be a railroad terminus station building in Jakarta projects an unfinished appearance years after trains were supposed to begin rolling. (Photo by Anna Nishino)

Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- It ripped through the corridors of Indonesia's government like a shock wave: Kereta Cepat Indonesia China, which is 40% owned by Chinese concerns, in December proposed adding another 30 years to its 50-year concession of a high-speed railway under construction in Java.

If the Indonesian government cannot turn down the proposal, the railway would be under China's influence until early in the 22nd century.

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