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One of the primary reasons people use a virtual private network (VPN
) is to hide or disguise their true IP address while they’re online. For
instance, some sports fans can watch a game that’s blacked out in their
area by tricking a website into thinking the user/viewer, based on
their IP address, is in another part of the country or world. (Whether
that’s fully legal is another matter).
Others who are concerned about their privacy hide their IP address
because they don’t want advertisers tracking their online behavior and
purchases and then matching that information to their IP address.
Oftentimes, websites will deny a person’s computer access by
“blacklisting” their IP address, if that website feels someone has
violated a rule. But by using a VPN, a user can get around the ban on
their normal IP address. Better yet, websites have no way of finding out
the true IP address.
That is, unless their VPN has a leak. Then they might have something to be concerned about.
Recently, news came out about a security flaw in VPN connections that
may allow websites (or investigators) to track down a person’s true IP
address while they’re using a VPN. That’s not supposed to happen.
Review: how a VPN works.
Let’s review a few basics about going online, browsing the Web and using a Virtual Private Network:
Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) makes your Internet connection
possible. When you go online, your ISP assigns an IP address to your
computer or router. Your IP address becomes your Internet “pass”—your
behind-the-scenes network ID.
When you have a VPN account, your Internet connection still comes from
your ISP (or whatever network you’re connected to while online)—the
office, Wi-Fi at the airport, etc.
By logging in to your VPN and selecting the region or country you want
to reroute through, the VPN assigns you a different, temporary working
IP address—your real IP address is still working, but in the background,
hidden.
At that point, other networks and computers could see your “VPN” IP address, if they bothered to look for it.
So where’s the problem? It happens to be built in to the Web browsers everyone uses.
Security “flaw.”
There is a special interface (program) in most Internet browsers
(Chrome, Firefox, etc.) called Web Real Time Communication, or WebRTC,
and that’s where the so-called flaw is.
However, WebRTC isn’t a flaw at all. It’s actually a special facet of your Web browser.
WebRTC allows computers on different networks to perform special
browser-to-browser applications, such as voice calling, video chats,
file sharing and more.
But as it turns out, in the hands of a technically savvy person, WebRTC
can be tricked into revealing your actual IP address, even if you’re
actively using a VPN service! That’s certainly not what you would expect or want.
IP address revealed!
Here’s how websites are fighting back: They have an IT person “write a
few lines of code” (in other words, create a mini-program) to initiate
or imitate a WebRTC-type connection with your browser. In the process,
the program tricks the VPN into revealing the actual IP address. The
website can then use the information to block the active connection.
Think of it as having a fake driver’s license pasted over your real
license. WebRTC is like an x-ray machine: Websites can see through the
fake IP address and identify the real one…and then block it.
What happens next?
News travels very fast on the Internet. It’s possible that the network
administrators at Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, MLB Network—which have issues
with people using VPNs illegally to access their sites—will start
turning the tables on some people.
If and when they do, you may find that you can no longer get away with
streaming movies or watching games or TV shows as you have been.
What can you do? Two things: 1) Check to see if your VPN is leaking your IP address and, if it is, 2) take steps to prevent it.
How to check for leaks.
If you have a VPN account, here’s how you can check your account for leaks*:
1.Open your browser, go to WhatIsMyIPAddress.com and jot down your IP address.
2.Log in to your VPN, choose a remote server (as you regularly do) and verify that you’re connected. Wait a few minutes.
3.Revisit WhatIsMyIPAddress.com and take note of your IP address once
more. You should see a new IP address, provided by your VPN connection.
4.Here is the key step: Visit this WebRTC test page and note the IP address displayed on the page.
5.If the WebRTC test shows your normal IP address, then your browser is leaking your ISP-provided address to the world.
You can count on WhatIsMyIPAddress.com around the clock to help you
verify your Internet connection and determine if your VPN is leaking
your IP address.
How to fix the leak.
There’s no need to panic. You might be able to fix the VPN leak on your
own, either by disabling WebRTC on your browser or installing a browser
plug-in that blocks it.
The Chrome, Firefox, and Opera browsers operate with WebRTC active, or
enabled, by default; Safari and Internet Explorer do not. (If the WebRTC
test showed your true IP address, you have it enabled.) Here’s how to
disable it:
For Chrome and Opera: Install the ScriptSafe extension from the Chrome
Web Store, which will definitely disable WebRTC. It works for Opera as
well, but it may be a cumbersome process to install it.
For Firefox: There are two options: 1) Disable WebRTC directly by
opening a tab and going to “about:config” in the address bar. Find and
set the “media.peerconnection.enabled” setting to “false.” 2) Install
the “Disable WebRTC” add-on from Mozilla Add-ons (go to @YourAnonNews
for the link).
Just so you know, disabling WebRTC may disrupt some Web apps and
services, such as chat or other services involving your computer’s
microphone or camera. If that happens, you can always enable WebRTC
temporarily to fix that.
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One of the most misunderstood computer terms—and services—may be the
proxy. Most of us aren’t IT experts or computer geeks, so all we want to
know is “What does it do for me?” So let’s try to answer that question
as simply as we can.
You may have even used a proxy, but just not have been aware of it. Today, a common type of proxy is called a VPN, for “virtual private network.”
1.If you look up the word proxy, you’ll see that it simply means a
“substitute who stands in for or represents another.” In the Internet
world, a proxy is an IP address that you can use as you go on the
Internet that also shields your actual IP address at that time.
You either have to sign up for a virtual private network
or be given access to one, by your employer, for example.
2.A VPN is more than just a substitute IP address—it also provides a
highly secure connection that delivers more security that most on the
Internet, including the one offered by your Internet Service Provider.
3.A VPN is a connection that’s available online, on demand. Once you
sign up for a VPN account—whenever you want anonymity, a safer secure
connection or a way around Internet blocks on your IP address—you can
route your connection through your VPN provider.
4.You get to keep your current ISP, which remains your primary Internet
connection at home. There are some free VPNs, but it’s better if you pay
for better service.
There are two different types of VPNs that are common today. One is for
private/corporate work purposes and the other is for Internet browsing
only.
A VPN for work purposes.
For example, my wife works for an advertising agency as a proofreader.
At times, she’s asked to do work on the computer long after she’s left
work. But she no longer has to go back to the office to do her work,
thanks to the company’s very own virtual private network.
Instead of going into the office, she simply goes to her work laptop in
our home office. We have an Internet connection that is always running.
She doesn’t have to open an Internet browser, such as Google Chrome or
Internet Explorer—she simply clicks on an icon and keys in her password
to open up the VPN automatically.
Once she’s on, she can access drives and folders on her company’s
server, which are accessible only to employees who are on-site or who
have the exclusive VPN connection. That way, she can open up a
presentation or a document that she’d typically be able to open only at
work. That whole time she’s online and connected to her workplace
computer/server, she’s using a virtual private network.
A secure connection is what is important.
This VPN connection provides her with a data “tunnel” which all of her
online activity will go through. This is the first and most well-known
quality of a VPN. All data “traffic” that goes through a VPN, whether
it’s an email or a Google search, is encrypted—that means it’s
electronically “scrambled” and would be undecipherable if tapped into by
a hacker.
A VPN for ordinary folks.
As you might know, a lot of people have become worried about Internet
safety and privacy. Many of these same people are worried that their IP
addresses might be captured by “outsiders” or hackers and used for scams
or computer attacks.
Thankfully, there are VPNs that are dedicated to the one application
(program) that people care about the most: Internet browsing. Instead of
a corporate virtual private network to connect to the workplace, a
public VPN service lets you
connect to a network of computers to hide your IP address and give you a
secure connection on the Internet, while protecting all of your data
transmissions.
To recap: People don’t use VPNs just to hide their IP addresses. A VPN
can also protect your data when you’re on the Internet and can give you
access to the websites and information that might otherwise block you
out.
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How to Browse Anonymously – Hide Your IP
For years, social media sites—and virtually every site online—have been
scraping together bits and pieces of your online browsing habits to
create an eerily accurate picture of who you are. While some people may
not realize (or care) about how their data is being used, the fact still
remains that websites are getting better at marketing to your specific
needs and beliefs. This means the more data a company has, the more
power it has over you.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be at the whim of big data. Here’s how
you can take internet privacy back into your own hands and surf
anonymously.
How to Browse Privately
Sure, turning off your browser’s cookies, emptying your cache, and
opening an incognito window may help reduce your digital footprint, but
it doesn’t mask it entirely. That’s because these types of private
browsing tools do nothing to obscure your actual IP address, which means
your ISP (internet service provider) can still see and record your
browsing data.
That’s right—your internet browser may not record or log your info, but
that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. The same holds true for mobile
browsing: your ISP records website traffic as well as call logs. If you
really want to be able to take advantage of anonymous browsing, you’re
going to need to use either a proxy server or VPN (virtual private network ).
While both make it possible for a person to browse on a server other
than their own, VPNs are generally considered more useful because
they’re able to encrypt and anonymize your entire network (a proxy
simply anonymizes the specific web browser you’re using). More than
that, VPNs are incredibly easy to use. There’s simply no better tool if
you want to surf anonymously.
How an Anonymous VPN Can Give You Back Your Privacy
A VPN makes it possible for users to access the web from another location. By masking your IP address
and letting you take on another address in a different location, you’re
able to browse the web as if you were actually in another country or
city. And because websites think you’re browsing from a different
region, location-restricted content that may have been unavailable
before will suddenly be accessible.
People use VPNs in heavy censorship countries like China to access
YouTube, Google, and other blacklisted sites. But even if you don’t
want—or need—to access blocked sites, a VPN is still useful as it masks
your actual IP address and lets you browse the web with added privacy.
It can also help normalize streaming speeds in the event that your ISP
is throttling your web traffic. This is a common issue for people with
limited data plans.
Think of it like this: if your computer is the starting point and the
websites you visit are the destination, a VPN puts a blanket over your
web traffic. This means no one can see which sites you’re visiting, and,
therefore, can’t spy on you or record your data.
Most VPN services also come with
their own encryption protocols, meaning you’re able to browse the web
anonymously while having more freedom to access the sites you services
you want. With Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services growing in
popularity, being able to pick and choose your VPN protocol makes it
easier to stream without having to worry about buffering or slow load
times.
What to Look for in a VPN
While VPNs were once reserved for the technologically elite, they’ve
made their way into mainstream culture over the years due to an emerging
cultural stance on user privacy. That said, there’s been a heavy influx
of fly-by-night VPN providers, and where some VPNs offer a
comprehensive service, others come with a host of concerns.
Free VPNs, for example, are typically riddled with privacy problems. In
fact, it’s worth avoiding free VPNs entirely. As most take their revenue
by either selling data logs or selling user bandwidth (or both), these
services are essentially profiting off your privacy. When it comes to
free VPNs, YOU are the product—not the other way around.
If you really want to browse anonymously, we recommend going with
RitaVPN. They’re one of the few VPN providers who not only provide a
logless service, they’re also a vocal advocate for user privacy. And
because they’re based in the British Virgin Islands, they don’t have to
comply with strict U.S. or EU data requirements.
An anonymous VPN can help you reclaim your digital privacy and browse
the web freely—the way it was meant to be. Just remember that every site
you visit leaves a trace, so if you truly want to hide your IP, you’ll
need to use a VPN on every internet-enabled device you own.
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But first, let's backtrack to the wedding, because that is where she acquired this rock that was last valued at "more than my life." The Beauty and the Beast-themed nuptials were a week ago in New Orleans, and the guest list included Wintour, Beyoncé, and Kim Kardashian—exactly the top three you'd want if you were going to have a famous-person wedding. Williams married Reddit's co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, so that's #powercouplegoals right there, and she wore three dresses at the ceremony and reception—two of them Versace, one of them custom-designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, who also did Kate Middleton's iconic gown. The latter was designed with a cape: Williams wanted to feel like a "superhero" on her wedding day, because she knows who she is. What a night! I only regret my invitation was lost in the mail.
Williams and Ohanian's daughter, whose name is Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. and already has more social media followers than you do, was also present. The GOAT Jr. was bedecked in finery and sitting in her maternal grandmother's lap.
Speaking of the infant, her latest appearance was in an Instagram with her Grand-Slamming mama on Wednesday, and that, dear readers, is where we get to the extremely good part: Williams' ring.
This 'gram wasn't really about Alexis at all, if you look at it closely—despite it apparently being a self-portrait the 10-week-old posted to her Instagram account (upside-down selfie! So novel!). Nor, despite her assertion in the caption, is it about the leopard print. I mean, yes, Alexis is there, but so is that massive rock on Williams' left hand, which is so big it almost pushed the fledgling Olympian (just re-read her middle name if you don't believe me) out of the frame.
Now, she is pleading for the return of her ring and two diamond bands that disappeared last month after she left them on night stand in a home a co-worker rented in Westhampton, New York. Iken-Murphy said she reported the rings missing to Southampton police, who are investigating them as stolen.
"I just need my rings," Iken-Murphy told HLN's Lynn Smith on Wednesday. "It's not about money for me. It's about how meaningful they are, and what significance they have."
There is a reward of $10,500 for the return of the rings, Iken said. Most of the money comes from two donors, including a board member of September's Mission, the nonproft Iken founded in 2002 that seeks to preserve the legacy of the terrorist attacks victims, including first responders who have died from 9/11-related illnesses and those who continue to suffer.
Iken-Murphy met her late husband Michael Iken on Sept. 11 1999. They were married for 11 months when Iken, who worked as bond trader at Euro Brokers on the 84th floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower, died in the terrorist attack. He was 37.
He called her on the day of the attacks to tell her everything was okay.
"The last thing he said was 'people are jumping out the window, I have to go'," Iken-Murphy said in a video she posted on Twitter.I didn't choose for the tragedy to happen in my life," she told CNN in an interview. "I didn't move on. I moved into the life I was given."
The Pope even blessed the rings at a ceremony at Ground Zero in 2015 that Iken-Murphy attended with her two young daughters.
Iken-Murphy celebrated her late husband's birthday Sunday at Ground Zero with his favorite Merlot. He would have been 55.
"I do everything in his honor, carry his spirit and his legacy so that my girls ... can continue that for me," she said of her daughters, 13-year-old Madison and 11-year-old Megan.
She said the ring is "a symbol of the love I had for Michael and the love I have for my husband," she said.
Latest market trends from ISC Research on international education in China include data from this school year (2018-2019). They show that the international private schools market in China has grown substantially due to an increasing demand from Chinese parents for an international, bilingual approach to learning for their children.
Five years ago, there were 629 international schools in China, many of which were schools for the children of foreign nationals that had very limited access to Chinese children. Today, there are 857 international schools in China and 563 of them are international Chinese-owned private schools. Over that same period, there has been a 63.6% increase in student enrolment, with 245,500 students now enrolled in the international Chinese private schools.
These schools are particularly successful because, during the compulsory years of education, the Chinese curriculum can be integrated with elements of international teaching and learning, including some learning in the language of English. Such a bicultural educational approach is what a growing number of Chinese families want; one that retains local culture and history, while introducing international elements that provide the skills necessary to prepare children for global higher education and careers.
There are several factors that have prompted this market change including an increase in education expenditure by more families as a result of a growth in prosperity in the country; the impact of China's two-child policy which is now seeing an effect within Early Years education; amendments that have been made to education regulations in recent years which now provide clearer guidelines and more opportunities for foreign schools to engage with the private education sector; and an increasing awareness by Chinese parents of locally accessible private international education opportunities.
Foreign education brands are driving the success of many of the international Chinese private schools. During the past five years, 31 independent school brands, mostly from the UK, but also from the US, have established agreements with Chinese schools and investors in order to deliver teaching expertise and an international style of education. Such partnerships are appealing to wealthier Chinese families who value the educational heritage, reputation, brand prestige, and opportunities that the UK and US schools are bringing to China.
International schooling options accessible to local families are available in many of China's Tier 1 cities. Although Shanghai and Beijing dominate, there are now 55 international schools in Shenzhen, 47 in Guangzhou, 25 in Chengdu, and several in a growing number of cities throughout China.
ISC Research is aware of at least 48 new international schools due to open in China in the next few years, many of which will be the international Chinese private schools partnering with foreign independent school brands.
ISC Research supplies primary-source intelligence and data - much of it collected by its own field-based researchers - on the English-medium K-12 international schools market in key countries most appropriate for international school development, including China. The ISC China Market Intelligence Report supports schools, investors and developers with detailed data and market intelligence to support due diligence and strategic planning for new school developments and agreements. The data and intelligence in this report is gathered directly from schools, government bodies and reputable associations in China to produce detailed demand analysis of this developing market.
Despite an overall trend of declining health and athleticism among Chinese children, a growing number of young people are taking up tennis — a sport invented in the U.K. in 1873 that barely existed in China less than two decades ago.
Like many others, Ni began playing tennis in 2011, when China’s former world No. 2 women’s tennis player Li Na became the first from Asia to win the Grand Slam championship title at the French Open. Li’s success led to a domestic tennis fever, and that same year, Ni’s father and coach, Xi Zhiye, began training his then-5-year-old daughter.“There was a surge in the number of Chinese teenagers starting to learn tennis that year — some of the parents thought the sport could be a possible future for their children,” said Xi, who quit his job in securities trading two years ago to focus on his daughter’s tennis training.
In her age group, Ni is a top player: Last year, she won third place in the national Zheng Jie Cup teen tennis tournament. The 11-year-old is a short-distance runner and a soccer player on the school teams, but it’s her tennis ability cultivated over six years of intensive training that has won her the most medals.
“I like playing tennis. It helps me relax after school,” Ni told Sixth Tone. “I’m the only one at my school who plays tennis, but I don’t feel lonely — I make friends at different tournaments, and they’re all excellent tennis players.”
The number of tennis players registered at Shanghai’s 16 government-run children’s sports clubs has increased tenfold since 2007, from 100 to 1,075 today, according to the city’s tennis association. A decade ago, only five of the 16 district clubs offered tennis, but now each has a team, said Xue Lei, vice secretary-general of the association. Tennis is also being offered at schools alongside other sports as part of a wider push by the Chinese government to encourage children to stay active.
Xue attributes the increased interest in youth tennis to the sport’s growing profile in China. In 1998, the international tennis tournament Heineken Open came to Shanghai, making it the first world-class tennis competition in the country. The Tennis Masters Cup and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments followed a few years later. Earlier this month, the Shanghai Masters entered its ninth year, drawing top international players like men’s singles champion Roger Federer.
“Many young parents today grew up watching these tennis games or following a certain star tennis player,” said Xue. “Motivated by their own interest in the sport, they started bringing their children to the court.”
This is certainly true for Ni, whose father began playing tennis as a hobby in the late 1990s and remains a loyal fan of Federer. Xi couldn’t wait to start teaching his daughter the sport when she turned 5 — considered the minimum age for children to start tennis training.school’s permission — and takes her to the court for her two-hour tennis practice. After dinner, she spends an hour on homework and goes to bed by 9:30 p.m.
Height is one barrier to playing tennis professionally. Top female tennis players must be relatively tall to reach the ball, but not so tall that their height slows them down. Ni undergoes bone age assessments every year to track her skeletal development, and current estimates suggest the 155-centimeter-tall girl could grow to between 172 centimeters and 175 centimeters — tall enough to pursue a professional tennis career. (By comparison, China’s top female tennis player, Li, is 172 centimeters tall.)
Ni’s father believes the real challenges lie ahead, when his daughter may be forced to choose between athletics and academics. While Xi believes university studies are a must, he doesn’t want her tennis training to go to waste. “In the U.S., there’s no contradiction between sports and academic studies, but in China, it’s the reality,” he explained. “Without appropriate academic learning, I’m afraid Ni would fall behind in terms of general knowledge and communication skills.”
At Concordia our Middle School program is based upon the developmental needs of the young adolescent with the following goals:
Mastering basic skills within an interdisciplinary context.
Acquiring a fundamental body or knowledge and the critical thinking skills necessary for its interpretation and application.
Developing and maintaining a positive self-image.
Accepting increased social, personal and academic responsibilities.
Exploring a diversity of curricular and extracurricular activities.
Developing an increased awareness of individual differences and respect for others.
Participating responsibly in the school community.
Virgin, which sponsors the London Marathon, says that “running is good for the heart” and stresses that more than one million people have safely completed the marathon in its 38-year history, but acknowledges that there have still been “several fatalities from serious heart disease in runners apparently unaware that they had a problem”.
Since the first event in 1981, a total of 12 participants have died, the most recent of whom was former Masterchef semi-finalist Matt Campbell.Campbell collapsed and died during last year’s marathon, when temperatures hit an all-time high for the event.This news was followed just a few months later by reports that two men had died after collapsing at the finish line of the Cardiff Half Marathon in October 2018.
The competitors, aged 25 and 32, “went into cardiac arrest after crossing the finishing line within three minutes of each other, at about 12.25pm”, reports the BBC.Given the number of people who take part in such races each year, just how dangerous is long-distance running?
How safe are marathons?
The BBC reports that most of the casualties that occur during a race concern minor injuries, like pulled muscles, sprains and strains. These tend to heal quickly and on their own.
The broadcaster adds that dehydration is the biggest problem that marathon runners have to overcome. “In a hard race on a hot and humid day, up to four litres of fluid can be lost through sweating and exhalation,” it says. “It is important for runners to keep well hydrated.”
But an increasing number of studies are now linking long-distance running with sudden heart conditions and issues that were undetected previously, even if there is no family history of similar health issues.
In a study published in December in the journal Circulation, researchers in Spain revealed that full marathons may put significant strain on the heart. In order to do this, the team measured substances that can signal stress and found higher levels in runners who covered the classic 26.2 mile (42.2 kilometres) marathon distance compared with those who raced shorter distances such as a half-marathon or 10K, Health24 reports.
A study presented to the American College of Cardiology in 2009 found that the risk of sudden death during a marathon is 0.8 per 100,000 people. By comparison, the report found that triathlons – which ask users to complete three sequential endurance races in swimming, running and cycling – have a significantly higher risk of sudden death at 1.5 in 100,000. To put this into perspective, the risk of dying in childbirth in the UK in 2012 was 8.6 in 100,000 births, according to The Daily Telegraph.
How does it affect the heart?
A number of independent studies have found that marathons appear to cause damage to the heart in the short term, but researchers are unsure whether the effects are lasting. Some note that there are cardiovascular advantages to regular running. “Being fit is protective,” Dr James Freeman, a fellow in cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine told The New York Times. Professor Sanjay Sharma, medical director for the London Marathon, told the BBC that most people who have died during the London marathon have had previous heart conditions or heart disease.
Should we be worried?
Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at 11 million runners who had completed marathons and half-marathons between 2000 and 2010. Over the decade, 59 of the runners had heart attacks, of which 42 died, which led the NEJM to conclude that “marathons and half-marathons are associated with a low overall risk of cardiac arrest and sudden death”.
A study carried out by Canadian researchers found that running long distances may cause temporary damage to the heart, but that any ill-effects are likely to be short-lived. “I don’t think most people who are going to run a marathon need to worry,” Davinder Jassal, an assistant professor of cardiology, radiology and physiology involved with the research told The New York Times. “The indications are that nothing serious is going on.”
But Judy O’Sullivan, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, emphasises the need for proper training and says people should consult their doctors if they have any worries. “We would always advise anyone who has any concerns to visit their GP before taking part,” she said.
A recent study published in the European Heart Journal recommended that marathon runners and other endurance athletes have their hearts tested while active to avoid potential sudden death while training or competing.
Professor Andre La Gerche and his colleagues in Australia and Belgium found that problems in the way the heart’s right ventricle works become apparent only during exercise and cannot be detected when an athlete is resting.
While seemingly aimed at regional economic corridors, the BRI is in fact global and motivated by economic and strategic interests. A successful BRI would allow China to more efficiently utilize excess savings and construction capacity, expand trade, consolidate economic and diplomatic relations with participating countries, and diversify China’s import of energy and other resources through economic corridors that circumvent routes that are controlled by the U.S. and its allies.
The initiative is generally popular in the developing world, where almost all countries face infrastructure deficiencies and a shortage of resources to overcome them. Through large amounts of loans to participating countries to construct infrastructure in various sectors, the BRI can potentially bring significant benefits to these countries by filling their infrastructure gaps and boosting economic growth.
While popular with developing countries, the initiative has received various criticisms from advanced industrial economies: that the program lacks transparency and serves to facilitate China’s export of its authoritarian model; that the commercial loan terms are bringing on a new round of debt crises in the developing world; and that the projects have inadequate environmental and social safeguards.
This paper examines the implementation of BRI infrastructure projects in Africa in light of available information and concludes that African experiences with the BRI are quite heterogeneous. Some of the major borrowers have debt sustainability problems, while others have integrated the loans from China into sound overall macroeconomic programs. Some of the major borrowers are authoritarian countries with poor records of human rights, but other major participants are among the more democratic countries of Africa. It is hard to make simple generalizations about BRI in Africa. For this reason, it would be wise for Western countries to tone down their rhetoric on BRI, as many of the projects will probably work out well. It would help if Western countries provided more support to the International Monetary Fund to help countries manage their borrowing and to the World Bank to provide more infrastructure financing that increased options for the developing countries of Africa.