We Are Not Trapping Africa in a Debt Trap

MOMBASA – Minister of Foreign Affairs China , Wang Yi on Thursday (6/1/2022) rejected the notion that Beijing has captivated countries Africa into the debt trap by offering massive loans to them.

He also dismissed the idea as a “narrative” driven by opponents of poverty alleviation. He made the announcement ahead of a Beijing-funded tour of infrastructure projects in Kenya.

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According to Wang Yi, China’s massive loans to Africa are “mutually beneficial” and not a strategy to extract diplomatic and commercial concessions.

“It is not a fact. This is speculation played by some people with ulterior motives,” he told reporters in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, as quoted by Channel News Asia.

“This is a narrative created by those who don’t want to see development in Africa. If there are pitfalls, it’s about poverty and underdevelopment,” said Wang Yi, speaking through an interpreter.

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The Chinese Foreign Minister’s three-nation tour of Eritrea, Kenya and the Comoros follows a trip to Africa by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in November last year, partly aimed at countering China’s growing influence on the continent.

China is Africa’s biggest trading partner, with more than $200 billion worth of direct trade in 2019, according to official Chinese figures. The Bamboo Curtain Country is also Kenya’s second-biggest lender, after the World Bank and has funded a number of expensive infrastructure projects that have raised concerns about Nairobi taking on more debt than it can afford.

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