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World Bank President David Malpass is worried about some of the loans China has been making to developing economies in Africa, calling for the terms and conditions to be “more transparent”, BBC reported.
His views come after countries, including Ghana and Zambia, struggle to repay their debts to Beijing.
The report said that steep increases in interest rates in the US and other major economies over the last year are making loan repayments more expensive since most of that borrowing is done in foreign currencies such as US dollars or euros.
“It is a double whammy and it means that [economic] growth is going to be slower," said Malpass.
A new study led by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy showed that globally China lent $185 billion in bailouts to 22 countries between 2016 and 2021.
Last week, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Mao Ning, said Beijing “respects the will of relevant countries, has never forced any party to borrow money, has never forced any country to pay, will not attach any political conditions to loan agreements, and does not seek any political self-interest”.
(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)
