China's debt-trap diplomacy is backfiring. Its ambitious Belt and Road project has hit serious roadblocks. All thanks to the coronavirus. Beijing's debt-trap diplomacy has come back to bite it. As Xi Jinping's ambitious plans to connect China with 100 other countries through railroad shipping and energy projects, the Belt and Road initiative is now mired in a debt crisis. Ironically, the Wuhan virus is the main cause behind the downfall of the ambitious initiative. Rolled out in 2013, the BRI was envisaged as a trillion dollar infrastructure project to bolster Chinese trade in other countries. Soon, the partner countries noticed that the BRI was a misnomer for Chinese colonialism. China has funded several projects worth billions of dollars across Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Europe. The loans were given always at exorbitant and unsustainable interest rates. The CCP regime also ensured that only Chinese companies were awarded the projects and local companies were held disqualified due to quality constraints. The projects were often economically unviable for the host countries. The BRI is aimed to connect China with other markets and not supposed to cater to local infrastructure needs. This is why China's interests are often at log-a-heads with those of its BRI partners. Therefore, the Humbun Thota Port project in Sri Lanka turned out to be a colossal failure. The Mahinda Raj Bhakshar regime was forced to hand over the port to China on a 99-year lease when it failed to repay for the profit less venture. The Humbun Thota Fiasco has become the defining feature of the BRI. China lends heavily on exorbitant rates, but when the host country fails to repay in terms of money, Beijing forces it to repay in terms of land and sovereignty. Other countries are also troubled with Beijing's debt trap diplomacy. Take the case of Laos. For example, where China is funding a high-speed rail project that costs half the country's GDP. The BRI started hitting roadblocks even before the coronavirus pandemic. Two African countries, Sierra Leone and Tanzania scrapped the BRI project last year. In 2018, Malaysia had postponed a major rail project under the BRI. It was revived after a negotiation but was ultimately scrapped. Bigger projects have been cancelled this year. In February, Egypt postponed indefinitely what was touted as the second largest coal-run power plant. The project was to be based at Hamarawain. A month later, Bangladesh gave another jolt by canceling a coal power plant at Ghazaria. But the BRI is really crumbling under the weight of the debt trap that China had so egregiously laid. The pandemic has crippled economies around the world and the BRI countries are no exception. BRI countries are compelling China to delay repayment of debts and Beijing might have to cave in for a variety of reasons. China has already lost all its goodwill this year. It let loose a deadly virus, covered it up and caused hundreds of thousands of debts around the world. Later, Beijing came out looking like a giant bully by becoming increasingly belligerent in the South China Sea, East China Sea and the Himalayas. China needs to earn some goodwill with its BRI partners. Otherwise, Xi Jinping's most ambitious initiative might well be due for a brutal debt. Pakistan also wants to delay repayment of loans by 10 years. African countries too are asking for debt forgiveness. China isn't really in a position to say no at this crucial juncture. Therefore, Beijing has paused debt repayment for 77 countries. Forty out of them are located in the African continent. In 2019, Beijing's debt claims stood at well over $5 trillion US dollars, a major portion of which is now going to get compromised. But today, it is itself trapped in the debt trap that China had created for others. Its reputation is at an all-time low and the BRI has run into deep trouble with several layers of unsustainable debt around it.