"When the west uses the term 'debt-trap diplomacy', it is an insult to the intelligence of the countries of the Global South," said Kishore Mahbubani, former Singaporean ambassador to the UN, at the launch of the Chinese translation of his book The Asian 21st Century,?hosted by CCG in Beijing on Tuesday.

"What the West is doing in writing negative stories about the BRI is actually very cruel because the BRI is actually helping poor countries to grow and develop," Mahbubani said.

Mahbubani cited the China-Laos Railway and the soon-to-be-complete Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, saying the two lines will improve the lives of people in Laos and Indonesia.

Currently, out of 193 countries in the world, over 150 countries have signed BRI agreements with China. "That is a clear vote of confidence in the BRI," said Mahbubani.?