When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...
Category: Finance
China Kicks off Program to Import More Foreign Goods
China on Tuesday launched a programme to encourage its citizens to buy more imports, as Beijing pushes a long-term plan to turn the country into a major consumer nation. Premier Li Qiang and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao announced the start of ...
China’s Evolution from “Rules Taker” to “Rules Maker” in Development Finance
As China’s economic influence expands, so does its ambition to shape the very system that once constrained it. In this episode of The China-Global South Podcast, Eric speaks with Greg Chin and Kevin Gallagher from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center about
Kenya’s Chinese Debt Swap Comes With a Hidden Currency Risk
The Kenyan Treasury last month announced a breakthrough in its years-long effort to restructure billions of dollars still owed to the China Exim Bank that were used to build the Standard Gauge Railway. The two ...
China and the Bretton Woods Institutions
By Gregory T. Chin and Kevin P. Gallagher The global economic order is undergoing significant change, especially as it pertains to the Global South. In the 20th century, the legacy Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) served as one of the only sources ...
IMF Meetings Begin Under Fresh Cloud of U.S.-China Trade Tensions
The IMF and World Bank's semi-annual gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors got underway in Washington on Monday, against the backdrop of new trade threats between the world's two largest economies. Last week, China unveiled new export restrictions on ...
Kenya Swaps $3.5 Billion in Chinese Railway Debt From Dollars to Yuan, Cutting Costs and Boosting Beijing’s RMB Push
Kenya and China have agreed to restructure the East African country's loan portfolio by converting an estimated $3.5 billion of outstanding debts from U.S. dollars into Chinese yuan. The amount is believed to be the remainder of more than $6 billion of ...
Indonesia Prepares for Pivotal Talks on Expanding China-Financed ‘Whoosh’ High-Speed Railway
When the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail, known as the Whoosh, opened in October 2023, it quickly drew scrutiny. China provided billions in loans, KCIC—the China-Indonesia joint venture operating the line—reported losses, and parent companies like the state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) absorbed significant deficits. Critics ...
Indonesia’s Infrastructure Minister Beijing Visit: Key Takeaways
Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY), Indonesia’s coordinating minister for infrastructure, traveled to Beijing in late August to meet President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials. The visit, carried out on behalf of President Prabowo Subianto, was focused on sustaining Indonesia–China dialogue on strategic infrastructure. ...
China’s Lending to the Global South Has Been Growing More Commercial
By Yunnan Chen Development finance has been embattled of late. Aid cutbacks have raised alarm over financing for climate and development goals. The most notable example is the egregious dismantling of the US Agency for ...
How China Really Secures Its Loans to Developing Countries
The "debt trap" meme claims that China is intentionally lending vast sums of money to poor developing countries in Africa, and elsewhere, with the express intent to seize physical assets in those countries when they inevitably can't repay their debts.
Eyes Turn to China as the West Steps Back From Development
By Tim Hirschel-Burns With the notable exception of the United States, all other 192 members of the United Nations agreed on an agenda for financing the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs). In important respects, the agreement on the
A Peer-to-Peer Pivot in China’s Overseas Development Finance
By Rebecca Ray In 2024, China extended $6.1 billion in 20 commitments in public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) loans, according to a new update to the China’s Overseas Development Finance (CODF) Database managed by the Boston University Global Development Policy ...