Poorest 750 nations face ‘tidal wave’ of debt repayments to China in 2025, study warns
www.theguardian.com
Vulnerable countries to pay record $22bn this year, mostly relating to loans issued under Xi Jinping’s belt and road initiative

Vulnerable countries to pay record $22bn this year, mostly relating to loans issued under Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative

The most vulnerable nations on Earth are facing a “tidal wave” of debt repayments as a Chinese lending boom starts to be called in, a new report has warned.

The analysis, published on Tuesday by Australian foreign policy thinktank the Lowy Institute, said that in 2025 the poorest 75 countries were on the hook for record high debt repayments US$22bn to China. The 75 nations’ debt formed the bulk of the total $35bn calculated by Lowy for 2025.

“Now, and for the rest of this decade, China will be more debt collector than banker to the developing world,” the report said.

The pressure to repay was putting strain on local funding for health and education as well as climate change mitigation.

  • conditional_soup@lemm.ee
    1·
    4 days ago

    Now hold on, so if someone agrees to the conditions of the loan for the IMF (austerity), that’s just business, but it isn’t if they agree to the conditions of the loan from China (99-year lease on a port on default)? Those both sound like Caveat Emptor to me, but only one of them is laser targeted on hurting the most disadvantaged in a country.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
      3·
      4 days ago

      With the IMF terms, the negatives are all up-front. As in: you want this money, you will have to have this negative. The China deal is “take the money and spend it on whatever you want. Oh, you’re broke now and can’t pay us back? Well, we’re going to break your legs now for non-payment.”

      The IMF loan would be the equivalent of having a bank loan with a high interest rate (meaning you have less money to spend on other things). The China deal is getting deferred payment on drugs from your drug dealer. He knows you’re not going to be able to pay him back and will extract the value of the drugs in some other worse way. Its predatory lending only apparent on the back end after the choice is removed from you.