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China Not to Blame for Debt Crisis in Developing Countries, Say a Chorus of Chinese Spokespeople in Beijing

by Eric Olander
Wang Chao, spokesperson for the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), responded to accusations China engages in predatory lending to developing countries. Image via Xinhua.

Don’t blame us, blame them emerged as a sort of chorus among various Chinese spokespeople in Beijing in recent days. They’re all pushing back against accusations that Beijing is the cause of the worsening debt crisis in Africa, Asia and other Global South regions.

BLAME THE MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS: Wang Chao, spokesperson for China’s rubber-stamp legislature, told a press conference on Saturday that critics should be focusing more on the role of multilateral development banks like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund rather than China in addressing the debt crisis in Africa, given their outsized role. 

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