Expert: West must stop demonizing BRI

The US and its Western allies should try to fill the infrastructure gap in developing countries, rather than trying to counter China and the Belt and Road Initiative, said Maya Majueran, director of Belt and Road Initiative Sri Lanka, an independent organization that provides advice on and supports Belt and Road projects.

The United States has shared its aim to mobilize $600 billion by 2027 to fund global infrastructure projects.

"The US itself needs massive infrastructure investments, how can it fund other countries' infrastructure development?" said Majueran.

Majueran blamed the United States for accusing China of engaging in "debt-trap diplomacy" and the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.

He stressed that China accounts for just 10 percent of Sri Lanka's debt. The current economic crisis in Sri Lanka is due to multiple reasons, such as domestic massive tax cut, US' interest rate hike and the current ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. "So it's unfair to blame China for the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka."