According to a research released on Tuesday, China spent $240 billion between 2008 and 2021 saving 22 developing nations. As more nations struggled to repay loans acquired for the construction of the “Belt & Road” infrastructure, this amount has escalated in recent years. This initiative includes about more than $48 Billion than China gave Pakistan as bailout loan.
Nearly 80% of the rescue lending was made between 2016 and 2021, largely to middle-income nations including Pakistan, Argentina, and Mongolia, according to researchers from the World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School, AidData, and Kiel Institute for the World Economy. However, financing has reduced since 2016 due to the fact that many projects did not produce the anticipated financial returns.
Nine countries earned less than $1 billion, with Argentina receiving the most at $111.8 billion, followed by Pakistan at $48.5 billion and Egypt at $15.6 billion.
Reuters reports that $170 billion of the rescue finance came from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) swap lines, which included Suriname, Sri Lanka, and Egypt. Chinese state-owned banks provided support for bridge loans or balance of payments totaling $70 billion. The total amount of both loan types’ rollovers was $140 billion. However, the report criticised certain central banks for perhaps inflating their foreign exchange reserve figures through the use of PBOC swap lines.
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Zambia, Ghana, and Sri Lanka are among the nations with whom China is now negotiating debt restructurings. It has been criticized, though, for delaying the procedures. It has responded by requesting that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund also provide debt relief.
