China, US commit to helping Zambia resolve nearly $14B external debt overhang

LUSAKA, Zambia

China and the US’s ambassadors to Zambia agreed Wednesday to set aside their differences and help the country resolve its nearly $14 billion debt overhang.

Du Xiaohui and Michael Gonzales also agreed to support the southern African nation’s leader Hakainde Hichilema rebuild an economy further shaken by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“Both sides agreed on helping Zambia resolve its debt issue by cooperating rather than publicly blaming each other. Both sides should (also) support President Hichilema in his efforts to develop the Zambian economy,” said a statement issued by Du’s office.

Separately, Gonzales’s office said the meeting discussed collaboration between China and the US in areas of mutual interest such as anti-corruption measures and strengthening the Zambian economy.

“The US shares President Hichilema’s vision of seeing Zambia engage positively with all partners committed to collaborating to benefit the Zambian people. The US and China both seek to support a strong and vibrant Zambian economy,” he said.

Zambia’s relations with both China and the US have been under scrutiny over the past few months as the two superpowers are perceived to be warring for the lion’s share of the African continent.

China accounts for nearly half of the debt for which efforts to restructure commenced last August after Africa’s second top copper producer clinched a $1.3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part a restructuring program under the G20 framework.

However, shadow boxing tactics between the US and China have led to the overhang, with Zambia’s Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane on record as having said that “we have done all that we needed to do. It is now up to the creditors.”

During the visit of US Vice President Kamala Harris to Lusaka last Friday, Hichilema said his administration had chosen the route of economic diplomacy, which included working unconditionally with both Washington and Beijing, adding that the world’s two largest economies had to work together for the benefit of the least developed world.