China will continue to work with African countries and the international community to implement the Initiative on Partnership for Africa’s Development and continue efforts to help African countries achieve development and prosperity, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, refuting the West’s “Chinese debt trap.”
Commenting on recent efforts from African leaders and journalists to refute claims of China creating “debt trap” in the continent, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the ministry, said that China has fully implemented the G20 debt relief initiative for the poorest countries, and actively supports the G20 in reaching an important consensus on extending the debt relief initiative to the end of this year.
Over the years, China has been committed to the principle of upholding justice while pursuing shared interests in handling lending and debt relief matters, and put into practice the principle of sincerity, real results, affinity, and good faith, the spokesperson said.
China’s corresponding measures have given a strong boost to the economic and social development of relevant countries and effectively eased their debt burden, Wang added, noting that many African countries have welcomed the measures.
Rwandan president Paul Kagame said that China has never forced any country to borrow money, while the presidents of Namibia, Kenya, Senegal, Botswana and other African countries also publicly supported China-Africa investment and financing cooperation.
The Kenyan media PD Online stressed that Chinese loans have been put into specific projects for development cooperation. Gerald Mbanda, a veteran Rwandan journalist, exposed and criticized the US and some Western countries’ allegation over the so-called a “China-made debt trap” in Africa with facts and figures, saying that the attacks were driven by politics, with the intention of driving a wedge between Africa and China.
Recently, in a discussion on Quora, some pointed out that Western countries that have never cared about Africa before now suddenly style themselves as the “protector of African people” and cast blame on China, which is driven by jealousy.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. Photo: VCG
