Follow CGSP on Social Media

Listen to the CGSP Podcast

China Boosted Pandemic-Era Debt Relief: Report

by Cobus van Staden
Source: World Bank IDS 2022 and IMF (for Angola). Note: “All China’’ includes both “bilateral” and “private” Chinese creditors. For seven debtor countries participating in only one year, the calculation includes only the participating year. The China data includes debt reprofiling by CDB and ICBC in Angola. The calculation does not include cash-flow relief provided by the IMF through the CCRT fund. “Debt service due” represents the pre-DSSI debt service originally due in 2020 and 2021.

China’s role in debt renegotiation processes has become very controversial, with U.S. officials like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen singling Beijing out as a “barrier” to resolving debt distress.

However, a new report by a team of prominent Africa-China researchers argues that China conducted itself quite well under the G20’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), a pandemic-era debt relief mechanism that fed into the current debt relief process.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More

You Might Like

China Should Not Compromise With Western Creditors in Zambian Debt Relief, Says Prominent Scholar

Zambia’s debt renegotiation is being delayed by barriers within China’s banking system and by Western pressure. So says Professor Tang Xiaoyang, a prominent expert on Chinese overseas development finance and the director of ...

First Signs of Progress on Debt at Spring Meetings, But Much Remains Unclear

There is cautious optimism at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings in Washington DC for progress on debt relief. Earlier this week, Reuters and other outlets reported that China could be ...

Sri Lanka Gets Relief from World Bank as FM Walks a Careful China Line

The World Bank announced $700 million in budgetary and welfare support to Sri Lanka on Thursday. The news comes as Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry met with China’s Finance Minister Liu Kun and Exim ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.