In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Category: Loans
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.
New Chinese Development Funding for Southern Africa
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) signed a $293 million loan facility agreement with China Development Bank. The funding will support energy, infrastructure, water, health, and manufacturing projects on the continent. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brazil earlier this ...
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 ...
With Chinese Backing, Cameroon Opens Second Phase of Kribi Deep-Sea Port
Cameroon opened the second phase of its Kribi deep-sea port earlier this month, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to strengthen its logistics infrastructure and expand its role in regional trade. The government completed the $650 million ...
With Chinese Backing, Cameroon Opens Second Phase of Kribi Deep-Sea Port
Cameroon opened the second phase of its Kribi deep-sea port earlier this month, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to strengthen its logistics infrastructure and expand its role in regional trade. The government completed the $650 million ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Indonesia Announces BRICS New Development Bank Membership, Eyes Infrastructure Funding
Indonesia on Tuesday announced that it will join the BRICS-backed New Development Bank NDB, headquartered in Shanghai, and has proposed 77 projects for funding. The move strengthens Jakarta’s financial ties with BRICS economies as the bloc expands ...
Bolivia Inaugurates Steel Plant Built With Chinese Loan
Short on foreign currency, Bolivia inaugurated a steel plant Monday that it hopes will reduce its reliance on metal imports, thanks to a loan from China. The Mutun megaproject in Puerto Suarez, near Bolivia's border with Brazil, was built at a ...
China Considering New Loan Terms for Bangladesh: Media
The Bangladeshi media is reporting that China has “agreed in principle” to extend the repayment period of a loan from 20 to 30 years. This follows a meeting between Bangladesh’s Foreign Adviser, Touhid Hossain, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday. Bangladesh ...
[DOUBLE EPISODE] 2024 China-Africa Year in Review
2024 will be remembered as a seminal year in China-Africa relations with a rebound of Chinese lending to the continent and renewed diplomatic engagement in the run-up to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit that took place in Beijing.
Chinese Lending to Africa is Way More Complicated Than You Think
It's widely believed that Chinese lending to African countries is predominantly done by a few state policy banks, such as the China Exim Bank and the China Development Bank. While that was true in the past, today the situation is far ...
Beyond Railways and Ports: China’s Evolving Lending Strategy in Africa
Chinese lending to African countries rebounded in a big way in 2023 after seven consecutive years of decline. Last year, Chinese lenders approved loans totaling $4.61 billion to African borrowers, a dramatic increase over the $922 million lent in 2022, according ...
In-Depth: China’s Finance for African Renewables Rebounds After Two-Year Lull
By Anika Patel New data reveals a rebound in Chinese financing of renewable energy projects in Africa in 2023, following a lull over the past few years.