So-Called “Debt Trap” Pure Disinformation
所谓“债务陷阱”纯属虚假信息
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Dr. Zhou Pingjian Publishes a Signed Article
驻肯尼亚大使周平剑在肯媒体发表署名文章
4 July 2022
2022年7月4日
Kenya’s largest creditor? Not China. Kenya owes less than 10% of its public debt, or, less than 20% of its foreign debt, to Chinese creditors. Labeling China as the main creditor of Kenya is clearly an overstatement.
肯尼亚的最大债主不是中国。中方债权人债务在肯公共债务中占比不足10%，或者说，在肯外债中占比不足20%。给中国贴上肯主要债主的标签明显是夸大其词。
Western investors, often in the forms of multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors, are the largest creditors of African countries such as Kenya. According to the World Bank’s 2022 International Debt Statistics, 28.8% of Africa’s external debt comes form multilateral financial institutions and 41.8% from commercial creditors. Together they account for nearly three-fourths of Africa’s total debt.
常以多边金融机构和商业债权人面目出现的西方资本才是肯尼亚等非洲国家的最大债主。根据2022年世界银行国际债务统计，在当前非洲整体外债中，多边金融机构债务占28.8%，商业债权人债务占41.8%，两者所持债务占比近四分之三。
Development takes financing support, internal or external. Following their political independence, African countries have made tireless efforts toward national development and economic revitalization. In this process, a shortage of funds for development and the need for external financing are problems that African countries have to face.
发展需要资金支持，内源融资也好，外源融资也好。非洲国家实现政治独立后，致力于发展和经济振兴，但建设资金面临缺口，需要对外融资，这是各国在发展中必须直面的难题。
China-Africa financing cooperation has provided Africa with new options to break the bottleneck of insufficient funds for development.
中非融资合作为非洲摆脱发展资金不足瓶颈提供了新的选择。
Since the beginning of the 21st century, China and other emerging markets and developing countries have actively supported Africa’s economic development. We have provided Africa with new financing channels different from the traditional Paris Club to help Africa build capacity for self-generated development.
新世纪以来，中国等新兴市场和发展中国家积极支持非洲经济发展，为非方提供有别于传统“巴黎俱乐部”的新融资渠道，为非洲增强自身“造血”功能、提升自主发展能力提供有效助力。
Take China-Kenya financing cooperation. All the loans from China are project-specific based on equal-footed consultation and mutually beneficial cooperation. The fruitful and tangible outcomes of our cooperation are solid there for all to see.
以中肯融资合作为例，来自中方的贷款都基于平等协商和互利合作，用于具体项目。中肯合作实实在在的丰硕成果有目共睹。
Africa’s debt situation is in nature an issue of development. The solution lies in ensuring the effective use of funds and loans. Fact is, financing from Western countries mainly focuses on non-manufacturing sectors, and often comes with political strings attached, such as reforms in human rights, law and other areas. Instead of truly helping Africa to advance economic growth, generate more tax revenues, and increase exports and earn foreign exchange for improved balance of payments, such financing is used as a means to remold the continent.
非洲债务问题的本质是发展问题，解决该问题的关键在于确保借贷资金切实发挥效益。西方国家对非融资主要集中在非生产领域，且贷款大多包含在人权、司法领域改革等政治条件，未能真正促进经济发展、增加政府税收、出口创汇改善国际收支，反而成为“改造”非洲的手段。
China always respects the wishes of the African people and China’s financing to Africa mainly focuses on infrastructure and manufacturing-related sectors to meet the region’s real needs. To date, by putting various funds to use, Chinese companies have helped African countries build and upgrade over 10,000 kilometers of railway, around 100,000 kilometers of highway, 1,000 bridges, 100 ports, and many large-scale power plants, hospitals and schools. Such financing support has boosted economic growth, increased tax revenues, created jobs, and improved people’s lives in relevant countries, bringing tangible benefits to the African people.
中方始终坚持尊重非洲人民意愿，立足非洲实际需要，对非投融资主要用于基础设施建设和生产性领域。中国企业利用各类资金已经帮助非洲国家新增和升级铁路超过1万公里、公路近10万公里、桥梁近千座、港口近百个，还有数不清的大型电力设施、医院、学校等。中国对非投融资有力促进了相关国家经济发展、税收增长、就业增加和民生改善，给非洲人民带来了实实在在的利益。
On transparency, China-Africa financing co-operation always follows customary business practices and respects African countries’ sovereignty, will and domestic legal procedures. There is no interference or covert maneuver. In addition, China has never attached any political strings to debt agreements, never forced any African country to take out loans, and never pressed for debt service by any African country. Not a single African country slid into debt predicaments or has been forced to mortgage its ports, mines or other strategic resources to China just because it has financing cooperation with China. Tarnishing the transparency of China-Africa cooperation is an insult to the governance of African countries and the wisdom of the African people. Such attempts themselves, I am afraid, are driven by the least transparent of intentions.
中非融资合作在透明度问题上始终遵循商业惯例、尊重非洲国家主权、意愿和国内法律程序，从未加以干涉，不存在任何“暗箱操作”。中国也从未在贷款协议中附加任何政治条件，从未强制任何非洲国家借款，从未对任何非洲国家逼债，更未有哪个非洲国家因为仅同中国开展融资合作而陷入债务困难，或被迫将港口、矿山等战略性资源抵押给中国。在透明度问题上抹黑中非融资合作，是对非洲国家治理能力和非洲人民智慧的侮辱，其居心恐怕是“最不透明的”。
Not a single developing country has ever fallen into the so-called “debt trap” because of Chinese loans. In fact, the so-called “debt trap” is a narrative trap created by those who wish to forever plunge Africa into a “poverty trap” and “backwardness trap”. It cannot be said that only the loans provided by Western countries in the past were development aids, while these from China now are called “debt traps”.
没有哪个发展中国家因为中国贷款而陷入所谓的“债务陷阱”。事实上，所谓的“债务陷阱”是一些人别有用心的炒作，是那些希望使非洲永远陷入“贫困陷阱”和“落后陷阱”的势力制造出来的“话语陷阱”。不能说历史上西方国家向发展中国家提供资金贷款就叫发展援助，而中国对非融资合作却被抹黑为“债务陷阱”。
China is truly committed to supporting Africa’s development and revitalization, and has always been dedicated to easing Africa’s debt pressure.
中方坚定不移支持非洲发展振兴，始终致力于帮助非洲减缓债务压力。
China is fully implementing the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative for Poorest Countries (DSSI): it has put off more debt payments than any other G20 member, signed agreement or reached common understanding on debt relief with 19 African countries, and engaged in the case-by-case debt treatment of Chad and Ethiopia under the G20 Common Framework.
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Unfortunately, commercial creditors as Africa’s main lenders only have limited participation in the G20 DSSI, and multilateral financial institutions have even refused to adopt debt relief measures under the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the DSSI. In doing so, they are forcing Africa’s bilateral official creditors to offer debt relief, and they claim that this would be good for Africa. Truth is, this is not in the interest of African countries and would only cost Africa once again its access to the international financing market.
遗憾的是，作为非洲主要债权方的商业债权人参与G20缓债倡议力度有限，多边金融机构在《缓债倡议后续债务处理共同框架》下甚至拒绝参与减缓债，同时他们反倒充当好人，绑架双边官方债权人减缓债，这对非洲国家而言无疑是饮鸩止渴，可能造成非洲再次失去国际融资市场。
In November 2021, at the eighth FOCAC Ministerial Conference, President Xi Jinping announced the exemption of debt incurred in the form of interest-free Chinese government loans due by the end of 2021 for LDCs in Africa, and pledged to channel to African countries 10 billion US dollars from its share of the IMF’s new allocation of Special Drawing Rights.
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China has also supported Africa in easing debt burdens by encouraging new means of financing based on market-oriented principles and commercial rules, including BOT, PPP and direct investment.
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Furthermore, China is exploring supplier’s credit in its financing cooperation with Africa.
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To resolve Africa’s debt problems requires a systematic plan, which includes both stopgap measures such as debt relief and solutions to step up Africa’s capacity for independent and sustainable development.
解决非洲债务问题需要系统性方案，不仅要通过缓债等手段治标，也要治本，提升非洲自主可持续发展能力。
China calls on the international community to beef up support to Africa, respect its will, heed its voice, and help African countries realize independent and sustainable development at an early date.
中方呼吁国际社会进一步加大对非投入，尊重非方意愿，倾听非方声音，帮助非洲国家尽早实现自主可持续发展。