The "hidden debt" (US$ 309 billion) and "underreported debt" (US$ 385 billion) problem with Chinese loans is not as serious as the numbers suggested in a recently published AidData report. The median figure for "underreported debt" is 1.8 percent of GDP, however AidData reports that the...

THIS PAPER PROVIDES AN EVALUATION of China’s participation in the G20’s COVID-19 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). Through analysis of available data, more than 100 interviews, and fieldwork in Angola, Kenya, and Zambia, we argue, with some caveats, that the DSSI was a success....

The question of how to promote structural transformation is central in fostering sustainable growth and poverty reduction in low-income countries in Africa. Following China's domestic economic transformation and its growing outward investments in the developing world, we seek to understand how...

We find that Chinese loans are not currently a major contributor to debt distress in Africa. Yet many countries have borrowed heavily from China and others. Any new FOCAC loan pledges will likely take Africa’s growing debt burden into account. The 2018 FOCAC will likely pledge additional loans...

New data show that China makes up 22% of public debt stock (2018) and 29% of debt service (2020) in low income Africa. Yet China’s role should not be overestimated. In over half of the 22 countries facing debt distress, China is a small lender. Their debt problems are not made in China In...

Down but not out. China’s loan commitments (2000- 2019) in Africa now total US$ 153 billion. New Chinese loan commitments of US$ 7 billion dipped 30% in 2019 compared with 2018. Avoiding risk. Countries where China reprofiled, restructured, or refinanced existing debt between 2015 and 2019,...