One of the most explicit challenges to the debt question came from Mohammad Mahathir, Malaysia’s long-serving prime minister who returned as prime minister in 2018. While on a trip to China, he abruptly announced the cancellation of $23 billion worth of rail and pipeline deals with Beijing. At age ninety-three, Mahathir had no hesitation in speaking his mind, warning his hosts against “a new version of colonialism.” Malaysia, he explained, could not afford such debt. “I believe China itself does not want to see Malaysia become a bankrupt country,” he said.
