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Sep 2022
15m 1s

What does Chinese forgiven debts mean fo...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Correction: We re-uploaded this episode to clarify the $1.5 trillion mentioned in the conversation was China's global loans, not just to Africa.

At a recent summit attended by African officials, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced that China would be forgiving 23 of its loans to 17 African countries.

But it’s worth pointing out that these were debts that were at zero interest.

According to data from the Global Development Policy Center, China has lent Africa as much as $160 billion.

Much of this money has gone into building infrastructure, such as airports, roads and sea ports.

But analysts have raised the alarm, saying there’s a looming debt crisis if the continent continues to borrow this heavily from China.

So amid the ongoing economic crisis sweeping through the world, what does this relationship with China and a large debt profile mean for Africa?

Alan Kasujja has been speaking with Zawadi Mudibo, the BBC Africa Business Editor to make sense of this relationship.

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