{"id":46966,"date":"2023-01-26T12:44:42","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T12:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/chinas-first-african-debt-rodeo-is-playing-out-in-zambia\/"},"modified":"2023-01-26T12:44:42","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T12:44:42","slug":"chinas-first-african-debt-rodeo-is-playing-out-in-zambia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/chinas-first-african-debt-rodeo-is-playing-out-in-zambia\/","title":{"rendered":"China&#8217;s first African debt rodeo is playing out in Zambia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:56.25%\"\/><img data-cy=\"StoryImage\" alt=\"Photo illustration of people in Lusaka, Zambia, with a Zambian currency and elements of the National Flag of the People's Republic of China\" sizes=\"100vw\" src=\"https:\/\/images.axios.com\/ER__aCDxZFDIZkU5l-DwkVzzDZE=\/0x0:1920x1080\/320x180\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=320 320w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/ER__aCDxZFDIZkU5l-DwkVzzDZE=\/0x0:1920x1080\/320x180\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=320 320w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/pmZt4TDLz1sK_wBZzkLHevWb2DU=\/0x0:1920x1080\/640x360\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=640 640w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/pmZt4TDLz1sK_wBZzkLHevWb2DU=\/0x0:1920x1080\/640x360\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=640 640w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/NOBhB6FyaofWneEj9FVpuG4BBh0=\/0x0:1920x1080\/768x432\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=768 768w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/NOBhB6FyaofWneEj9FVpuG4BBh0=\/0x0:1920x1080\/768x432\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=768 768w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/PyypKBFd5neXvALM2-Hb8jV3-rU=\/0x0:1920x1080\/1024x576\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/PyypKBFd5neXvALM2-Hb8jV3-rU=\/0x0:1920x1080\/1024x576\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/X21Vy07Kj388Y-ZBFQxKfKZn6es=\/0x0:1920x1080\/1366x768\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=1366 1366w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/X21Vy07Kj388Y-ZBFQxKfKZn6es=\/0x0:1920x1080\/1366x768\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=1366 1366w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/qNOM7AZnnjlx4vZUVMHMwOrUcVw=\/0x0:1920x1080\/1600x900\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/qNOM7AZnnjlx4vZUVMHMwOrUcVw=\/0x0:1920x1080\/1600x900\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/mfwkJtjt3iIgEtQB9KoubAs1dCo=\/0x0:1920x1080\/1920x1080\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=1920 1920w, https:\/\/images.axios.com\/mfwkJtjt3iIgEtQB9KoubAs1dCo=\/0x0:1920x1080\/1920x1080\/2023\/01\/24\/1674597294831.jpg?w=1920 1920w\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"pt-3 text-caption font-sans text-soft-black-shade\">\n<p>Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo\/Axios. Photo: Jean-Claude Coutausse\/Bloomberg via Getty Image<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Lusaka, Zambia \u2014 The first test for <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"African debt restructuring\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/01\/20\/global-debt-crisis-climate-transition\" data-vars-content-id=\"4025d1b5-bf60-4009-88bd-dc797f30fb43\" data-vars-headline=\"China's first African debt rodeo is playing out in Zambia\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/01\/20\/global-debt-crisis-climate-transition\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">African debt restructuring<\/a> in a post-COVID world is playing out in Zambia, a land-locked country bigger than Texas, rich in copper and loaded with Chinese debt \u2014 and so poor that most of its population lives on less than $2 dollars a day. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters: <\/strong>If Zambia, China and international creditors cannot come to an agreement on how to restructure Zambia&#8217;s debt, other African countries might get a glimpse of their fate. It&#8217;s not pretty. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Unable to pay their bills, and unable to restructure their debt, countries like Zambia will be unable to attract any investors to help them them improve their economy \u2014 and grow out of poverty.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The big picture:<\/strong> China has agreed, in principle, to help restructure the debt of struggling Africa economies. But the question remains if China is willing, in practice, to take a haircut on any of its loans. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Zambia, which <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"defaulted on $17 billion\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2022\/05\/27\/sri-lankas-debt-crisis-matters-to-the-world\" data-vars-content-id=\"4025d1b5-bf60-4009-88bd-dc797f30fb43\" data-vars-headline=\"China's first African debt rodeo is playing out in Zambia\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2022\/05\/27\/sri-lankas-debt-crisis-matters-to-the-world\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">defaulted on $17 billion<\/a> of its external debt two years ago, is China&#8217;s first debt rodeo under the new so-called &#8220;Common Framework&#8221; program.<\/li>\n<li>That makes the debt question in Zambia, Africa&#8217;s second largest copper producer, bigger than just a single country. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Driving the news:<\/strong> The Biden administration and the International Monetary Fund are swinging into action. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Putting pressure on China, the biggest holder of Zambia\u2019s external debt, has been a central push of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen\u2019s private and public diplomacy on the first two stops of her <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"10-day Africa tour.\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/01\/20\/yellen-africa-speech-russia-china\" data-vars-content-id=\"4025d1b5-bf60-4009-88bd-dc797f30fb43\" data-vars-headline=\"China's first African debt rodeo is playing out in Zambia\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/01\/20\/yellen-africa-speech-russia-china\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">10-day Africa tour.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>&#8220;We will continue to press for all official bilateral and private-sector creditors to meaningfully participate in debt relief for Zambia, especially,&#8221; Yellen told Zambia\u2019s president on Monday.  She also called China a &#8220;barrier.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>The IMF\u2019s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva also flew to the capital of Lusaka, where new Chinese-built roads lead onto old British traffic circles, for private talks on Monday.<\/li>\n<li>China&#8217;s embassy in Lusaka shot back at Yellen&#8217;s comments. In a <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"statement\" data-vars-click-url=\"http:\/\/zm.china-embassy.gov.cn\/eng\/hdytz\/202301\/t20230124_11014281.htm\" data-vars-content-id=\"4025d1b5-bf60-4009-88bd-dc797f30fb43\" data-vars-headline=\"China's first African debt rodeo is playing out in Zambia\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"http:\/\/zm.china-embassy.gov.cn\/eng\/hdytz\/202301\/t20230124_11014281.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a>, a spokesperson accused the U.S. of &#8220;sabotaging&#8221; efforts to find a debt solution and needled the U.S. on its own &#8220;catastrophic debt problem.&#8221; <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The intrigue:<\/strong> The U.S. and China discussions over Zambia could also be a game of footsie for two countries, testing their willingness to cooperate on a range of global issues after President Biden and President Xi promised to communicate better at the G-20 last November.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Yellen had a <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"largely positive meeting\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/01\/19\/janet-yellen-china-economy\" data-vars-content-id=\"4025d1b5-bf60-4009-88bd-dc797f30fb43\" data-vars-headline=\"China's first African debt rodeo is playing out in Zambia\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/01\/19\/janet-yellen-china-economy\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">largely positive meeting<\/a> with her Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, in Zurich before heading to Africa.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-ad-status=\"AD\" data-ad-type=\"midStoryAd\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>And while she has name-checked China in prepared remarks, calling on Beijing to do more, she\u2019s also gone out of way to call the talks with Liu \u201cconstructive.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>A senior Treasury official expressed some optimism that a call could be complete soon, but didn\u2019t specific a timeline. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Go deeper:<\/strong> In response to the global pandemic \u2013 which increased the odds of debt defaults in emerging economies \u2013 the G-20 in 2020 devised so-called \u201cCommon Framework for Debt Treatments.\u201d <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The goal was to create a process that would include China, a new player the lending game, in any likely international debt-relief negotiations. <\/li>\n<li>Zambia, which elected a new president in 2021 after its default in 2020, asked the IMF for <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"$8.4 billion in debt relief\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/zambia-requests-8-4-billion-in-debt-relief-from-foreign-creditors-11662489738\" data-vars-content-id=\"4025d1b5-bf60-4009-88bd-dc797f30fb43\" data-vars-headline=\"China's first African debt rodeo is playing out in Zambia\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/zambia-requests-8-4-billion-in-debt-relief-from-foreign-creditors-11662489738\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$8.4 billion in debt relief<\/a> last September, making it the first for the Common Framework program. <\/li>\n<li>Ethiopia and Ghana have also applied for debt restructuring under the program. (Chad initially applied, but reached an agreement with  creditors that didn&#8217;t involve a restructuring.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Be smart:<\/strong> China, having shoveled out some $700 billion to Africa in the last two decades, is a relatively new creditor. It is also new to painful negotiations about taking a haircut on any of its loans. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>But if China continues to slow-walk the talks, other African countries will be on notice, and it will be clear that Beijing plans to drive a hard bargain. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/__i\/rss\/rd\/articles\/CBMiR2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmF4aW9zLmNvbS8yMDIzLzAxLzI2L2NoaW5hLXphbWJpYS1hZnJpY2EtZGVidC1yZXN0cnVjdHVyaW5n0gEA?oc=5\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo\/Axios. Photo: Jean-Claude Coutausse\/Bloomberg via Getty Image Lusaka, Zambia \u2014 The first test for African debt restructuring in a post-COVID world is playing out in Zambia, a land-locked country bigger than Texas, rich in copper and loaded with Chinese debt \u2014 and so poor that most of its population lives on less &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[161],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46966"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}