Debunking Biases: A Critical Analysis of Western Media Reports about Chinas Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

This paper will examine and debunk some of the negative claims that many US and Western media outlets made regarding the Belt and Road Initiative (One Belt One Road, or BRI). There are plenty of articles published by news organizations in the US that claim China has used unfair measures to take advantage of the host countries, including the debt-trapping of Sri Lanka. This paper will seek to examine and debunk some of the claims that are prejudiced or factually incorrect. To prove the argument of this paper, articles from US and Western newspapers have been examined. After recording the claims of these articles, these claims will try to be corroborated or debunked by looking at how media from the host countries regard and respond to the issue. After the examination, the claim of the debt-trap of Sri Lanka in the Hambantota Port Deal has been proven as improbable. This is because a large number of their domestic media and studies about Sri Lanka reveal that the project actually benefited Sri Lanka by creating a large number of jobs and funding. In addition, the deal seems to have been initiated by Sri Lankan politicians, removing the fault completely from China. Media in other countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia and Pakistan have also been analyzed, proving a majority positive public opinion towards the BRI.