China Pledges to Forgive Debt of 17 African Countries

China has pledged to forgive 23 interest-free loans for 17 African countries and will also provide food aid to nations in need. This was announced by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on August 18.

Wang Yi, in his statement given at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, stated, “China will forgive 23 interest-free loans for 17 African countries that were due by the end of 2021.”

Wang also assured that China will continue to support and actively participate in the construction of large infrastructure projects in Africa through financing, investment and assistance in areas such as digital economy, health, ecological sectors, among others.

☑️ China will waive 23 interest-free loans for 17 African countries that matured by the end of 2021.

☑️ China is prepared to rechannel its $10bn SDR in IMF to Africa.

☑️ China has decided to provide new food assistance to 17 African countries in need this year.

— Chinese Mission to UN (@Chinamission2un) August 18, 2022

Kenya, South Africa and Uganda are among the many African states that have borrowed heavily from China. African countries have also enthusiastically joined the Belt and Road Initiative to build ports, railways and land infrastructure.

Although western countries and especially the US have criticized Chinese lenders and called the loans a scam, several studies, including one last year indicated that there was no evidence of “asset seizures” and that Chinese lenders had not resorted to the courts to demand payments, nor had they applied penalizing interest rates to borrowers in difficulty, unlike what Western lenders do all the time.

The latest announcement of debt forgiveness adds to China’s cancellation of more than $3.4 billion in debt and restructuring of around $15 billion of debt in Africa between 2000 and 2019.

(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/FV/SC