Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning pushed back against recent allegations by senior Western officials that China is holding back debt restructuring in Zambia. Citing recent statistics from the Zambian government, Mao pointed out that Zambia’s debt burden is predominantly Western, with 24% to (Western-led) multilateral institutions and 46% to (mostly Western) private lenders.

She reacted to a question about two recent allegations, from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that China is a “barrier” to debt reform, and World Bank President David Malpass, who said: “China is asking lots of questions in the creditors committees and that causes delays and strings out the process.”