CHINA-AFRICA: CHINESE LOANS TO AFRICA AND THE DEBT TRAP
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The Africa Brief (September 7) disclosed that China is Zambia’s single biggest creditor with
around $6 billion thought to be owed to Chinese financiers. Faced with international pressure
surrounding its no-strings lending practices and accusations of “debt-trap diplomacy,” China
has been scaling back on African Belt and Road Initiative programs and being more cautious
on how it lends by shifting away from massive infrastructure projects. At a summit attended
by African officials, China recently announced that it would cancel interest-free loans in 17
African countries. In late 2020, China wrote off $113 million interest-free loan debts due to
mature in 15 African countries. Chinese-backed infrastructure developments in Zambia date
back to the 1970s as they do in many other African countries. Only two months ago, work was
completed on a new $60 million conference centre in the capital Lusaka, a gift from China.
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