Re: I was watching...
They have a debt problem
Who doesn't? Have you seen the size of American debt both public and private? The advantage for the US is that, as long as the dollar is the reserve currency of choice, it can always borrow cheaply. Now all it has to do is decide on a budget. The advantage for the Chinese government is that it doesn't hold meaningful elections.
Of course, the infrastructure projects are inefficient. The important thing for them, however, is that they are pumping money into the economy.
The "belt and road" is mainly a very expensive PR and vote buying stunt. It was getting bogged down and then Trump started shitting on his friends: going back on the agreement with Iran was probably the biggest boost to Chinese soft power in years.