China willing to join multilateral debt-relief efforts to help poor nations, Li Keqiang tells IMF head

Chinese premier tells IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva all parties should work together and ‘shoulder the burden fairly’ to aid highly indebted countries

Beijing is the largest bilateral creditor to the poorest countries, but it faces disputes with multilateral lenders over debt restructuring

Reading Time:2 minutes

China is a major lender to many high-debt nations in Africa and South Asia. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:59pm, 2 Mar 2023Updated: 1:09pm, 2 Mar 2023

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday said China was willing to “constructively” participate in multilateral efforts to help debt-laden countries, state news agency Xinhua reported.

In a phone call with International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva, Li said addressing the debt problems of low-income countries required the participation of all creditors.

China, the largest bilateral creditor to the world’s poorest states, has been in disputes with multilateral lenders over which parties should spearhead efforts to restructure sovereign debt.

It had earlier urged Group of 20 (G20) countries to conduct a fair, objective and in-depth analysis of the reasons behind global debt issues and to resolve problems in an effective manner.

“China is willing to constructively participate in solving the debt problems of relevant countries under the multilateral framework,” Li was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

“At the same time, it advocates that all parties should take joint action and shoulder the burden fairly, so as to help low-income countries overcome economic difficulties and achieve sustainable development.”

Drivers push autorickshaws to buy petrol in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in July 2022. China has indicated it is willing to support the South Asian country’s debt restructuring plans. Photo: Reuters

China is a major lender to many high-debt nations including Ghana, Zambia and Sri Lanka. According to government data, Zambia owed Beijing nearly US$6 billion at the end of 2021.