It’s going to be much more difficult for countries in Africa and other developing regions to borrow money from China. New research from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center reveals a sharp drop in overseas lending by the country’s two largest policy banks, from $75 billion in 2016 to just $4 billion last year.
After years of sometimes profligate lending, Chinese creditors are showing newfound discipline on what they finance.
Dr. Yan Wang, a senior visiting fellow at the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University, is among the world’s leading experts in Chinese overseas development finance. She joins Eric & Cobus to discuss her latest research on the issue and why she thinks Beijing is now pulling back the reins on lending.
Show Notes:
- Boston University Center for Global Policy Development: Sovereign Debt Through the Lens of Asset Management: Implications for SADC Countries by Yan Wang and Kevin Gallagher
- Financial Times: China curtails overseas lending in face of geopolitical backlash by Jonathan Wheatley and James Kynge
- Project Syndicate: China Takes the Lead in Development Finance by Kevin Gallagher and Rebecca Ray
Dr. Yan Wang is a non-resident senior research fellow, Global Development Policy Center at Boston University and a senior visiting fellow, Institute of New Structural Economics, Peking University; and academic committee member, the International Financial Forum (IFF). She previously worked as Senior Economist and Team Leader in the World Bank for 20 years and served as Coordinator of the OECD-DAC and China Study Group for two years (2009-2011). She is the author or coauthor of four books and dozens of papers and country reports, and received twice the SUN Yefang Award in Economics.
