Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

China will continue to maintain close communication and friendly consultation with Zambia and other parties concerned, in order to continue to play a constructive role in the resolution of the Zambia's debt woes, Mao Ning, a spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Mao's remarks came after that Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said that she welcomes China's participation in the recent sovereign debt roundtable held in India, while calling on China to do more in this framework so that the parties can reach an agreement on Zambia's debt.

Mao said that China attaches great importance to the debt problems of developing countries and has made positive contributions to alleviating their debt burden and promoting sustainable development.

As a friendly country to Zambia, China has always attached great importance to the Zambian side's concerns over its debt, and China was the first official international creditor to implement debt relief actions for Zambia, and subsequently facilitated three successful meetings as co-chair of Zambia's creditors committee, according to the spokesperson.

"We believe that Zambia's debt restructuring problem requires mutual understanding and trust among all stakeholders and a joint effort to find the best solution," Mao noted.

According to data disclosed by the Zambian Ministry of Finance, Western-dominated commercial creditors and multilateral financial institutions, which account for 70 percent of Zambia's external debt, ought to assume their responsibilities and take action to ease the country's debt burden, Mao said.

During a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Bengaluru, India, China's finance minister Liu Kun said via video on Friday that all parties should analyze the causes of the global debt issues fairly, objectively and thoroughly, in order to resolve the problem in a comprehensive, systematic and effective manner. 

International financial institutions and commercial creditors should be involved in debt management in accordance with the principle of "joint action and fair burden", Liu noted.

China has always been taking responsibility in addressing the debt risks faced by some nations.

On February 20, China's Foreign Ministry said that the Export-Import Bank of China has provided Sri Lanka with a debt extension, noting that China is willing to negotiate a medium- and long-term debt plan with the country in a friendly manner.

According to the ministry, China has provided Sri Lanka with a letter supporting the sustainability of Sri Lanka's debt, expressing its willingness to extend the debt due in 2022 and 2023. During the prescribed period, Sri Lanka will not have to repay the loan principal and interest of the Export-Import Bank, which help Sri Lanka ease short-term debt pressure.

Global Times