China has become the world’s largest government creditor to the developing world. Now it’s facing the prospect of having to restructure debt to multiple countries at the same time. That will be high on the agenda of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank’s annual meetings later this month.
Beijing is joining with creditors from the “Paris Club” of major lenders for the first time to offer relief in Zambia, a model that will extend to other low-income countries. But China’s domestic politics, including competing ministries and powerful banks, as well as its tense relations with the West, have caused some delay in debt relief.
