The Chinese government is responding to critics who charge that Beijing is not doing enough to resolve the rapidly escalating debt crisis in Africa, especially in Zambia. “We have signed debt-relief agreements with the majority of countries that have requested it, and are holding consultations with the remaining countries,” the Foreign Ministry said on Friday in a written response to questions submitted by Bloomberg. 

Later, Wu Peng, China’s top diplomat for sub-Saharan Africa took to Twitter to bolster the government’s case. “Chinese financial institutions are actively resolving the debt issue of Zambia and other African countries,” he said.