By Ntombi Mhlongo
China has urged the United States to earnestly shoulder its responsibilities and make greater efforts to address debt issues in African countries.
Africanews has reported that Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin made the call at a press conference in Beijing while responding to accusations from some U.S. and World Bank officials that China is an obstacle in African debt relief.
“China attaches great importance to debt issues in Africa and actively helps African countries cope with the issues. China has always been committed to providing support for the economic and social development of developing countries, including African countries, and has always carried out investment and financing cooperation with developing countries based on equality and mutual benefit. Our country has always done its best to help developing countries ease their debt burden,” Wang was quoted as saying.
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He reportedly highlighted that China is not the source of the debt trap of African countries, but a partner in helping them and other developing countries get out of the poverty trap.
The spokesman is also said to have made reference to the fact that data from the World Bank showed that multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors hold nearly three-quarters of Africa’s total external debt, creating the biggest debt burden for African countries.
The debts of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) account for nearly 70 per cent of the total debt held by multilateral financial institutions.
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The United States is the largest shareholder of the World Bank and IMF, and financial capital from the U.S. and Europe is the largest commercial creditor of African countries. There is an unshakable responsibility for the U.S. to participate in solving Africa’s debt problems, said Wang.
“We urge the U.S. side to earnestly shoulder its responsibilities and make greater efforts to promote the substantive participation of multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors in addressing Africa’s debt issue,” said Wang.
