ISLAMABAD: China has said that it’s financial assistance to the developing countries did not carry political strings or self interests and rather China has been helping developing countries ease their debt burdens and has made the biggest contribution to implementing the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).
China does not accept the groundless accusations of the US claiming that China’s lending to developing countries is causing them to run into debt problems, Mao Ning, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told a media briefing in Beijing.
“We do not attach any political conditions or seek any political self-interest. China has been helping developing countries ease their debt burdens and has made the biggest contribution to implementing the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative,” she added.
China has always followed international rules and carried out investment and financing cooperation with other developing countries on the basis of openness and transparency, Mao said.
Her comment was a response to the remarks of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said on Wednesday that the US is working hard to counter China’s influence in international institutions and in lending to developing countries.
“I’m very, very concerned about some of the activities that China engages in globally, engaging in countries in ways that leave them trapped in debt and don’t promote economic development,” said Yellen.
Since 2022, the US has raised interest rates at an unprecedented rate, which has worsened the debt problems of relevant countries. The US should take concrete actions to help developing countries instead of pointing fingers at others, Mao noted.
World Bank statistics show that multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors account for more than 80 percent of the sovereign debt of developing countries, which is their biggest source of debt pressure.
Meanwhile, China has offered help to developing countries struggling with debt problems. For instance, China has already provided Sri Lanka with a letter supporting the sustainability of Sri Lanka’s debt, expressing its willingness to extend the debt due in 2022 and 2023.
In 2021, China took action to re-channel $10 billion of its Special Drawing Rights to Africa through the IMF and waived 23 interest-free loans for 17 African countries that had matured by the end of 2021.
