Day: September 20, 2022
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One of China’s Top Africa Diplomats in Ghana Just as Debt Crisis Unfolded
One of China's most senior Africa diplomats, Special Representative Liu Yuxi, was in Ghana on the same day the country's finance ministry announced it would suspend debt repayments to external creditors. Liu appears to be on a regional tour of West Africa , so ...
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Zambia’s President Hichilema Clarifies Chinese Loans’ Role in Debt Crisis
As Ghana sinks into debt distress, many are looking to Zambia’s debt restructuring process for clues on how China will feature. Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema provided a glimpse into his government’s thinking about Chinese debt at a Council on Foreign Relations event ...
It’s China, Not Africa That Could be Facing a Debt Trap: Report
At 12% of Africa’s total external debt, China didn’t cause the current wave of debt distress hitting the continent. But the crisis presents Beijing with a dilemma: should it strongarm these countries to get its money back or trade economic losses for diplomatic gains? ...
New Report Debunks Chinese Debt Trap Narrative in Sri Lanka
The Chinese debt trap narrative was started based on the purported surrender of the Port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka. When Colombo fell behind in its payments to the China Exim Bank for the loan, the story goes, Beijing seized the ...
Is the U.S. Comparative Advantage in Engaging with Africa Enough for U.S.-Africa Relations?
By Oyintarelado Moses The U.S. showed off its comparative advantage in engaging with Africa during the Africa and Diaspora Young Leaders Forum at last week’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. While sitting in the audience, I observed as the first African American Vice ...
Tonga's King Tupou VI and China’s President Xi Jinping shake hands after a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 25, 2025. Photo by MAXIM SHEMETOV / POOL / AFP
By Ben Strang More than four years on from one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in history, Tonga is struggling to improve its infrastructure as it pays off a massive Chinese loan. When Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai erupted on ...
The Mystery of China’s Interest-Free Loan Cancelation: Connecting the Dots
Amid China's controversial role in debt crises from Sri Lanka to Zambia and beyond, the recent cancelation of 23 interest-free loans to 17 African countries caused a lot of misunderstanding, not least because the Chinese government has still not published official lists of the countries and loans in question.
Kenya’s New President Steps Into Debt Dilemma
Kenya’s new President William Ruto faces a steep debt mountain as he enters office. Servicing the country’s debts consumed 63.5% of tax revenues in the first two months of the current financial, a rate that’s expected to continue next year. For the first time, debt repayments are also projected ...
Ruto Decisions Raise Questions About SGR’s Financial Future
Repaying Kenya’s $3.7 billion loan to China for the Standard Gauge Railway is key to Kenya’s broader financial future. However, two decisions by the country’s new President, William Ruto, will make that much harder, raising the danger that the burden could fall on taxpayers.
Chinese Communist Party Convenes African Diplomats
Senior officials from the Communist Party of China (CPC) convened a meeting of African diplomats in Beijing on Saturday, highlighting the role of the Party in Chinese diplomacy to Africa. Headed by Liu Jianchao Minister of the International Liaison Department of the CPC’s Central Committee, the meeting ...
China and Nicaragua Discuss Trade, Party Ties
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Denis Moncada, his Nicaraguan counterpart, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Monday. The two countries resumed diplomatic relations last year after Managua recognized Taiwan in 1990. They discussed a possible ...
Navigating the Belt & Road in SE Asia With a New Digital Toolkit
October marks the 9th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and after all these years, nearly a decade later, many people around the world are still trying to figure out what exactly the BRI is. What is certain, though, ...
Understanding the Significance of China’s Interest-Free Loans Cancelation
By Oyintarelado Moses and Jyhjong Hwang On August 19, 2022, China announced it would waive 23 interest-free loans (IFLs) with maturity by the end of 2021 for 17 unspecified African countries worth an unspecified total amount. This announcement comes as ...