For the second time in less than a month, there’s been an alarming media report about China and Zambia reaching some kind of inflection point over the issue of debt. This weekend, the South China Morning Post newspaper in Hong Kong published a story with a provocative headline that posed the question if there “is a Split in the works” between the two countries brought about by Lusaka’s apparent inability to service its debts.

In September, the London-based publication Africa-Confidential published a similarly dire report about Zambia’s rapidly deteriorating financial situation and the mounting pressure that’s forming with its creditors in Beijing.