Radical transparency is democracy's secret weapon to counter China

Authoritarian regimes, like China, fundamentally depend upon opacity for their engagement with the global economy. Opacity provides the perfect cover for bribes, illicit finance, and corruption, while shielding government officials from public scrutiny over suspect arrangements. As shown in our new report on China's Belt and Road Initiative,Tightening the Belt or End of the Road?, China's insistence on comprehensive opacity allowed Chinese and local officials to hide a host of bad decisions, weak planning, poor risk management and corruption. If America and its allies want to get serious about countering China's economic and political coercion, we need to be committed…