Tonga’s Debt to China Hinders Rebuild Four Years on From Eruption

Tonga's King Tupou VI and China’s President Xi Jinping shake hands after a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 25, 2025. Photo by MAXIM SHEMETOV / POOL / AFP

By Ben Strang

More than four years on from one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in history, Tonga is struggling to improve its infrastructure as it pays off a massive Chinese loan.

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by Agence France-Presse

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