Reality Check (Part 15 of 21) Falsehoods in US Perceptions of China https://english.news.cn (June 19 2022) Part 14 is at https://billtotten.wpcomstaging.com/2022/07/10/reality-check-part-14-of-21/ Falsehood 15 The US will give countries an alternative choice so that they can be free from opaque investments that leave them in debt. Reality Check In providing foreign assistance, China always respects the sovereignty of recipient countries, attaches no strings whatsoever, and pursues win-win outcomes. Chinese assistance has delivered real benefits to the relevant developing countries and received their acclaim and appreciation. * The so-called Chinese "debt trap" is a narrative trap that the US and some other Western countries use to defame and smear China and disrupt China's cooperation with other developing countries. As a 2021 article in The Atlantic points out, the debt-trap narrative is just a lie fabricated by some Western politicians, and a powerful one. Western capital constitutes the largest creditor of developing countries. According to the 2022 statistics of the World Bank on international debt, 28.8 percent of Africa's outstanding external debt is owed to multilateral financial institutions and 41.8 percent to commercial creditors mainly composed of Western financial institutions. These two types of institutions together hold nearly three-quarters of the debt, making them the primary creditors of Africa's debt. According to the director of the China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at the Johns Hopkins University of the US, after scrutinizing thousands of Chinese loan documents, mostly for projects in Africa, CARI has not found any evidence that China deliberately pushes poor countries into debt as a way of seizing their assets or gaining a greater say in their internal affairs. CARI's figures show that China holds 17 percent of Africa's overall external debt, far less than that of the West. Not a single African country has been forced to use its strategic resources such as ports or mines as collateral for financing cooperation with China. DW (Deutsche Welle?) points out that the default of African countries does not give China the right to use the relevant infrastructure. * The debt issue is, in essence, a development issue. The key to resolving this issue lies in ensuring that the loans deliver real benefits. Take Africa as an example. Western countries' financing for Africa is mainly concentrated in non-production fields, and most loans come with political strings attached, such as human rights and judicial reform. They have failed to truly promote economic development, boost government tax revenue, and improve the balance of payments. Rather, they have served as instruments for controlling and causing harm in Africa. China always respects the will of the African people and bears in mind the actual needs of African countries. Chinese investment in and financing for Africa are mainly in infrastructure building and production-related fields. Entering the 21st century, China has worked actively to support Africa's economic development and provided an alternative to the traditional financing channels of the Paris Club. This has helped Africa to strengthen its capacity for self-generated and self-reliant development and to usher in a golden age of high-speed economic growth for 20 years straight. Professor Deborah Brautigam of Johns Hopkins University noted the diversification of Chinese investment. In 2014 alone, Chinese companies signed over 70 billion US dollars in construction contracts in Africa that will yield vital infrastructure, including hospitals, oil and gas pipelines, and airports. According to preliminary statistics, between 2000 and 2020, China helped African countries build more than 13,000 kilometers of roads and railways and more than 80 large-scale power facilities, funded more than 130 medical facilities, 45 sports venues, and more than 170 schools, and trained more than 160,000 professionals across various fields for Africa. The Nairobi Expressway project built by Chinese companies in Kenya through public-private partnership has created more than 6,000 local jobs and benefited more than 200 subcontractors and several hundred local suppliers. The Kenyan government speaks highly of the project, commending it as an important manifestation of the mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between Kenya and China. Nigeria's Lekki Deep Sea Port project, built with Chinese participation, has provided more than 1,200 local jobs and is expected to create, directly and indirectly, 170,000 more upon completion. A study conducted by Hong Kong scholars finds that more than 80 percent of the employees of Chinese companies in Africa surveyed are local Africans. A team at the London School of Economics and Political Science finds that Chinese investment in Africa has produced "significant and persistently positive long-term effects". A study by RAND Corporation indicates that in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) region, having a rail connection between trading partners has improved total exports by 2.8 percent. * China attaches high importance to the debt sustainability of projects. Back in 2017, it signed the Guiding Principles on Financing the Development of the Belt and Road with 26 countries participating in the BRI. In 2019, China released the Debt Sustainability Framework for Participating Countries in the Belt and Road Initiative. Based on the debt situation and repayment ability of debtor countries, and following the principles of equal-footed consultation, compliance with laws and regulations, openness, and transparency, the framework aims to strengthen monitoring and assessment of the economic, social, and livelihood benefits of the projects, and channels sovereign loans into areas with high yields, with a view to ensuring the long-term returns of the projects. China has also made proactive efforts to lessen the burden on debtor countries. According to the World Bank, between 2008 and 2021, China provided 71 debt restructurings for low-income countries. In 2020, China actively responded to the G20's Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) by suspending the payment of more than 1.3 billion US dollars of debt that year alone, or nearly 30 percent of the G20's total, making it the largest contributor among G20 members. China has signed debt suspension agreements or reached mutual understanding on debt suspension with 19 African countries, and actively participated in the case-based debt settlement for Chad and Ethiopia under the G20's Common Framework. * The US and some other Western countries, rather than taking action themselves, point fingers at China for providing assistance. This has caused much displeasure among countries in the wider developing world. Professor Samita Hattige, an adviser to the National Education Commission of Sri Lanka, said in an interview with the Global Times that Chinese loans are based on the needs of the Sri Lankan government and for the purpose of improving Sri Lankan infrastructure. The loans have brought major changes to Sri Lanka's economy and people's livelihood, and there is no such thing as a "debt trap". China's share in Sri Lanka's external debt is around a mere 10 percent. Apparently, some media have chosen to ignore this fact. While the "Chinese debt trap" hyped up by Western media seems apprehensible at a glance, it has deliberately evaded the huge economic values that infrastructure improvement has created, such as economic development and more jobs and investment. The article "Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal Need China for Development" published by Sri Lanka's Daily News on 17 January 2022 says, South Asia needs China in its development process because China is synonymous with the term "Development". China's ... Belt and Road Initiative provides benefits for almost all South Asian countries. "In the case of Sri Lanka", the article writes, "Sri Lanka is a beneficiary of Chinese projects. Many say only about the Chinese debt trap in this regard but no one mentions Chinese developmental activities in Sri Lanka". "They have invested heavily in seaports, airports, ... national highways, and power distribution centers". Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stated in an interview with Nikkei in 2022 that Africa has been having (debt) problems for the last 600 years due to the slave trade, colonialism, neocolonialism - and none of it was from China" ... China supported Africans' fight against colonialism before starting economic activity on the continent. Rwandan President Paul Kagame pointed out that China's presence in Africa is different from that of other countries: I don't think China has forced any country in Africa to take their money to accumulate the kind of debt you may find with some countries. Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama stated that Nigeria had chosen Chinese companies for infrastructure projects because they were experienced and provided competitive rates. "So the issue of Chinese influence really doesn't come in". Source: fmprc.gov.cnEditor: huaxia2022-06-19 22:19:29 https://english.news.cn/20220619/edf2556087954b8d90440b077a3c3c21/c.html https://billtotten.wordpress.com/ https://www.ashisuto.co.jp---