Borrowers in Africa and other developing regions are expected to repay $35 billion of Chinese loans this year, with two-thirds of the amount coming from the world’s poorest countries. Many of these debts were taken out in the mid-2010s and are now exiting their grace periods, putting enormous pressure on government budgets that were already under strain.

But this isn’t a problem just for borrowing countries; Chinese creditors are also finding themselves in a difficult bind. If they push too hard to collect on these debts, it could force the most vulnerable countries into default. At the same time, though, they have an obligation to their stakeholders, including Chinese taxpayers, to ensure these obligations are fulfilled.