This woman’s student debt has an interest rate close to that of a credit card (the great no-no of financial advice—whatever you do, don’t take on credit card debt, or you may never climb back out of the abyss again).

As these debts mature, repayment pressures are straining public finances and reinforcing the charge that Beijing deliberately created a global debt trap.

I can't keep paying over $600 a month, and I can't pay more to make a bigger dent in my debt. What else can I say to get them to lower my interest rates?—Jen, Texas Dear Jen: I'm not sure anything you plead, beg, or promise will do any good at all.

In either case, credit card debt quickly spirals out of control if left unpaid. U.S. households are increasingly finding themselves trapped in a vicious cycle of indebtedness.

Unsecured consumer debt is like a steel trap armed with attractive bait to lure you in. Then, once you're in, it slams shut. Now you are its prisoner. I've been in the debt trap. It's a horrible place to be.

Once you’re free of debt, stay that way. Keep your credit limit low and turn down offers to increase it, Mr. Terrio said. If you move debt to a line of credit, stop using your credit card.

According to Irina Tsukerman, security analyst and founder of Scarab Rising, the extraordinarily advanced state of China's tech investments in Latin America shows ambition beyond mere "debt-trap diplomacy."

As of today, the CCP is still creating more debt traps.

In addition to the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war that have severely damaged the world's second-largest tea exporter and major tourist destination, the country is also mired in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Belt and Road debt trap, with about

In recent years, the initiative has been perceived as a “debt trap,” leaving some poor countries distressed by debt burdens and putting their sovereignty at risk.

Just as BNLP can be a debt trap for the wrong shopper, education and consumer advocates fear that “Learn Now, Pay Later” could be a similar pitfall for students—and often with much higher stakes.

In recent years, critics have denounced Beijing for using “debt-trap diplomacy” to lure countries into its initiative.

Apart from U.S. and African allegations of debt-trap diplomacy, some Africans resent that Chinese investment projects often bring in their own labor from China rather than creating jobs for locals.

In recent years, however, Beijing has been accused of using "debt-trap diplomacy” to lure many nations into its orbit.

Critics of the BRI have dubbed the project a form of “debt-trap diplomacy,” which saddles developing nations with unsustainable debt levels, leaving them vulnerable to ceding strategic infrastructure and resources to Beijing.

Many of these highly indebted countries "fall in a debt trap," she said because "they cannot generate enough growth to bring down debt levels and these debt levels hold them back."

In recent years, China has lured many countries into a debt trap through the BRI, which is one of the world’s most ambitious and controversial development programs.

This system has trapped millions of Americans in a form of debt servitude and drained their economic productivity.

China's debt-trap diplomacy also has allowed Beijing to expand its human rights abuses. There's an increase in harassment of Chinese dissidents abroad.

Moreover, some experts believe that this infrastructure may cause Laos to fall into the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) "debt trap."

While some cash-strapped members might risk debt traps to secure a quick economic boost from the Chinese regime, the long-term payoff could prove negligible, according to Shen.

In recent years, the initiative has been perceived as a “debt trap,” due to Beijing's predatory lending practices.

Debt Traps   The Lowy Institute report notes that China’s lending boom from the mid-2010s is now maturing, leaving Tonga, Samoa, and Vanuatu with “substantial debt obligations to Beijing.”

How is the Chinese Communist Party exploiting poor, but resource-rich or strategically situated countries using debt-trap diplomacy? What role is the US playing in the global response to coronavirus?

Rising prices and higher interest rates are trapping many Americans in expensive credit card debt, a new report states. 

But analysts warn that for many Americans, this is a bad trade and risks getting them trapped in expensive debt that they will struggle to get out of. 

Washington has criticized China for luring countries into the Belt and Road to expand its global influence through its so-called debt-trap diplomacy.

Similar "debt traps"—the result of poor financial awareness, years of loose regulation of lenders, costly repossessions and tough laws on bankruptcy—also help fuel support for extremist politicians in poorer areas.

In recent years, however, the initiative has been perceived as a “debt trap,” raising the risk of economic distress in borrower countries, particularly in Central and South Asia.

a narrative that OBOR created a "debt trap" for participating countries.