Tag: debt trap
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Letter to the Editor: Why China Will NOT Seize the Port of Mombasa if Kenya Defaults on SGR Debt
Hi Eric, Just caught this statement [in your September 28 column "China Faces a Critical Test": "And let’s not forget that, should Kenya Railways default on the Nairobi-to-Mombasa SGR loan, there's always the Port of Mombasa that serves as collateral"] ...
QZ Africa Editor Yinka Adegoke on the Current State of China-Africa Relations
There've been major developments over the past week in the African debt crisis. It appears that Angola and China reached a consensus on how to restructure the estimated $20 billion of loans that Luanda owes Beijing. This deal then paved ...
China Faces a Critical Test in Kenya
Kenya's difficulties in servicing its debts for the newly-built, Chinese-financed Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is nearing a breaking point. Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, the railway failed to meet passenger and cargo volume targets and now the economic downturn brought on by the ...
Debt Trap? Nah, We’re Too Disorganized For Anything Like That Says China’s Chargé d’Affaires in Nigeria
China's Chargé d'Affaires in the embassy in Nigeria, Zhao Yong, provided an uncharacteristically frank rebuttal last week to the persistent accusations that Beijing is engaged in predatory lending in Nigeria and Africa writ large. In typical fashion, Zhao blamed the U.S. ...
Why African Countries in Debt to China Should Pay Close Attention to What’s Happening in Laos
A Chinese state-owned company will take control of the power grid in Laos, one of Asia's poorest countries, in a deal to stave off default of its multi-billion-dollar debts to China. The two sides reached an agreement last week for Electricite du ...
Is Debt-for-Equity Chinese for “Debt Trap?”
Tucked away in a remote corner of Southeast Asia, an important experiment is now underway that could have profound implications for how China manages its vast loan portfolio in Africa and in other developing regions. Last week, Laos's state-owned electric power ...
No Evidence, No Problem: Nigerian Media’s Love Affair With the Chinese “Debt Trap” Narrative
Even though scholars from around the world have debunked the charge and there's no evidence to support it, the Chinese debt trap meme is alive and well in some of Nigeria's leading newspapers. The ongoing Chinese loan controversy in Nigeria has ...
Chinese Embassy to Nigeria: Don’t Worry, We’re Not Going to Seize Your Assets
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Abuja tried to reassure increasingly anxious Nigerians that Beijing has no plans to use loans as a way to seize strategic assets. Press Officer Sun Saixiong addressed the ongoing controversy over a contentious clause in a contract that a ...
Nigeria’s Transport Minister Says What Others Won’t: Who Else is Going to Lend Us Money for Infrastructure?
Nigeria's embattled Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi appeared on national TV again on Tuesday to try and clear up the rumors and misinformation surrounding a $500 million Chinese loan, which includes a "sovereign immunity" clause. That clause, now commonly ...
Was China’s Ambassador to Somalia Correct When He Claimed That China Accounts For Just 14% of Africa’s Debt?
Yesterday, China's ambassador to Somalia, Qin Jian, posted a Tweet where he stated that "China accounts for about 14% of all foreign debts in Africa," which was a figure that we hadn't previously seen. Since the Chinese government does not provide an easily accessible resource ...
Why China-Africa Relations is Like a Geopolitical Rorschach Test
It's often said that analyzing China-Africa ties is a lot like looking at one of those inky splotches you see on a Rorschach test. If you think China's engagement in Africa is the worst thing that's happened to the continent in ...
Why Are We Still Talking About Chinese “Debt Traps?”
My own focus on China-Africa relations is filtered through my background in media studies. One effect of this training is that I'm fascinated by the narratives that shape the relationship, how they spread and what they reveal. One of the hardiest ...