Italian economist Michele Geraci tweeted on his X account his rebuke of the Financial Times story on Oct. 22 alleging the fiasco of the Belt and Road Initiative. “The Financial Times today publishes a critical article on the Silk Road, and, numbers in hand, talks about the critical issues of the projects along the CPEC, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the line that connects Western China with the ports of the Indian Ocean (the Karakoram Highway is one of these projects that I had the opportunity to see with my own eyes in the Pamir Mountains, months ago),” Geraci wrote Oct. 22.
“Having reviewed the numbers and analyses of the FT in support of their thesis, negative on the Belt and Road, I am perplexed, even taking their numbers as good, I’ll report them to you so you can judge for yourself.
“In Pakistan, 40% of projects were delayed or went over budget. And of this 40%, 20% were suspended or canceled [FT charges]. My considerations:
“1) Saying that the Silk Road is going badly and taking Pakistan as a benchmark, a country where political chaos reigns, seems curious to me.
