Creditors should ‘share burden’ of low-income nations’ debt issues: China tells IMF

ISTANBUL

While China’s economic growth is “stabilizing” and “rebounding,” Premier Li Keqiang told International Monetary Fund (IMF) that all parties should work together and “share the burden” of low-income countries' debt problems.

“China is committed to closing the North-South divide,” Li told IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva during a phone call on Wednesday.

“Addressing low-income countries’ debt problems necessitates the participation of all creditors,” Li said, adding: “China remains ready to play a constructive role in resolving relevant countries’ debt issues within a multilateral framework.”

During his phone call with the IMF chief, the Chinese premier urged “all parties to work together and share the burden fairly in order to assist low-income countries in overcoming economic challenges and achieving sustainable development,” China’s State Council said in an updated statement on Thursday.

China is the largest bilateral creditor to the world’s poorest states, according to the daily South China Morning Post.

Beijing has been urging the G-20 countries to “conduct a fair, objective and in-depth analysis of the reasons behind global debt issues and to resolve problems in an effective manner.”

Reiterating China’s commitment to “closing” the North-South divide, Li said: “Last year, unexpected factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on China's economy (but) the government responded quickly and decisively, implementing established policies and measures ahead of schedule, and introducing a package of policies and ongoing measures to stabilize the economy, thereby also stabilizing the macroeconomic market.”

He added local governments in cities and towns have “added over 12 million new jobs” while amid high global inflation, the “consumer price index increased by only 2%.”

Li said the Chinese economy grew at an average annual rate of 4.5%, higher than the world average.

“Currently, China’s economic growth is stabilizing and rebounding, with vast development potential in the future,” the Chinese premier told the IMF chief.