Analysis
Diverse voices, unique insights on key issues shaping China’s engagement throughout the Global South.
analysis
China’s Debt Fight Has High Stakes
We’ve covered Chinese lending to the Global South through the boom days of the BRI and the current debt busts cratering Zambia, Sri Lanka and other economies. One of the things we’ve learned is that China plays a weird dual role in the global development finance landscape. ...
India Thinks It Can Persuade China to Take Big Losses on Its Loans to Poor Countries
The Indian government, in its role as rotating head of the Group of 20, is drafting what will no doubt be a controversial proposal that calls on all major international creditors, namely China, to take large losses on its loans to poor countries.
Xi Reassures Raisi Everything is OK Between China and Iran
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is undoubtedly relieved that his meeting on Tuesday with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping went smoothly and (at least on the surface) Tehran's ties with Beijing seem back on track. Over the past year, there's been mounting concern in ...
Iranian President Embarks on Critical Visit to China
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is visiting China for his first state visit and the first by an Iranian president in two decades. Raisi is traveling with a large entourage, including Iran’s central bank chief and its top nuclear negotiator.
IMF Tells Sri Lanka to Gets Its Creditors in Line, Prompting Showdown With China
The Sri Lankan government suffered another setback in its ongoing effort to secure a $2.9 billion emergency financing package from the International Monetary Fund after the lender informed Colombo it would have to secure more assurances from its creditors, namely China, to provide debt relief. ...
Is Turkey Serious About Its Recent Criticism of China?
By Buğra Süsler Last December Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu held an end-of-year press conference to review the year’s foreign policy developments and Turkey’s relations with the world. A highlight of this conference was his exceptionally open criticism ...
China, Syria Blame U.S. Sanctions on Damascus for Hampering Earthquake Relief
China will send $4.4 million in emergency humanitarian aid to earthquake-hit Syria. The announcement came as China also echoed a call by Damascus for U.S. and European sanctions to be lifted to facilitate the delivery of aid. The death toll in northern ...
China Sends Personnel, Aid to Assist With Quake Recovery in Türkiye
China announced a series of measures to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Türkiye and Syria in response to Tuesday's devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed at least 8,000 people. Beijing is still a relatively new actor in being able to provide rapid response ...
Debunking Propaganda in the Debate Over “Western Private Creditor” Debt in Africa
In this short piece, I will use statistical data extracted from the World Bank's online database. The figures I will use here are for Africa as a whole, i.e. sub-Saharan Africa (the one most often referred to when talking about "African" debt) and North Africa. Figures are for the ...
China-IMF Spat Over Debt Relief Intensifies Following Fund Chief’s Call for Beijing to Change Its Ways
The war of words between China and Western-led multilateral institutions about developing country debt is escalating. China’s party-owned tabloid Global Times has reacted to a recent CBS 60 Minutes interview with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, in which she said: "China has to change its policies ...
China is Pushing For a Major Change in Global South Debt Restructuring
The Chinese government provided its first official confirmation that it will provide Sri Lanka with a two-year debt repayment moratorium on $2.83 billion of loans owed to The China Exim Bank. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning's statement on Friday was intended, in part, ...
China’s Free Trade Agreements in the Global South: Quito and Beijing
By Alvaro Mendez and Chris Alden After eleven months and five rounds of negotiations, Ecuador announced last month that it has completed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China. It still has to obtain legislative approval, but we believe it will ...