Rajpriya Gautam

Yet another U.S. government official  has added to the war of words between Washington and Beijing on debt restructuring. Ramin Toloui, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the US Department of State, was asked about China’s role in Sri Lanka’s debt crisis  during an interview  on the nationalist Indian news channel, WION: Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $19/mo OR Yearly $199/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More source https://chinaglobalsouth.com/2023/03/07/senior-u-s-diplomat-criticizes-chinas-role-in-sri-lankan-debt-restructuri...

Nearly two weeks after being shuttered due to protests from competing traders, China Square, a Nairobi shop selling inexpensive Chinese imports, is  back in business . This follows  talks  between the Kenyan authorities and the local Chinese chamber of commerce. It seems that Moses Kuria, the trade secretary who called for the business’s closure, may have been brought into line by  more powerful interests . Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $19/mo OR Yearly $199/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More source https://chinaglobalsouth.com/2023/03/07/controversial-ch...

The Iranian authorities say they found the world’s second-largest deposit of lithium in the mountainous province of Hamedan. At an estimated 8.5 million tons, the Hamedan lithium haul would be second only to Chile’s estimated 9.2 million ton deposit. It could position Iran as a significant player in the global competition for battery minerals between China and the United States.  (CNBC) Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $19/mo OR Yearly $199/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More source https://chinaglobalsouth.com/2023/03/07/huge-lithium-deposit-in-found-in-iran/

Don’t blame us, blame them  emerged as a sort of chorus among various Chinese spokespeople in Beijing in recent days. They’re all pushing back against accusations that Beijing is the cause of the worsening debt crisis in Africa, Asia and other Global South regions. BLAME THE MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS : Wang Chao, spokesperson for China’s rubber-stamp legislature, told a press conference on Saturday that critics should be focusing more on the role of multilateral development banks like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund rather than China in addressing the debt crisis in Africa, given their outsized role.  Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Sub...

Even though talks between Chinese creditors and the Ghanaian government  are now underway in Accra  to restructure the country’s $1.7 billion of bilateral debt, a narrative that  Beijing is delaying the process  is taking hold in the Ghanaian media. The problem stems from the postponement of a high level visit to China led by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta  that was to have happened last Friday, the day before China’s annual legislative gathering known as the Two Sessions. Instead, the China Exim Bank dispatched officials to meet with Ofori-Atta and Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey in Accra. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscri...

Just ten years ago, it usually took less than two months for a debt-distressed country to get a sign-off from the International Monetary Fund for emergency financial relief, but that is no longer the case,  according to new data compiled by Reuters. It took Zambia 271 days to get approval from the IMF and it’s been 182 days and counting for Sri Lanka. Although Ghana is now just embarking on the process, there’s no indication it will fare much better in the current environment. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $19/mo OR Yearly $199/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More source ...

Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, is among a small group of Washington, D.C.-based analysts trying to devise practical solutions for how developing countries can unblock the current impasse preventing debt-distressed countries from restructuring their loans. The following transcript was adapted and lightly edited for clarity from  a seven-part Twitter thread posted by Moore. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $19/mo OR Yearly $199/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More source https://chinaglobalsouth.com/2023/03/06/a-call-for-the-african-u...