SIIS Hosts Webinar on Africa's Debt Situation and China’s Responses

2022/07/14

On July 14, 2022, the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) hosted an international webinar on "Africa’s Debt Situation and China's Responses".  A number of experts and scholars from international organizations, enterprises, Chinese and overseas think tanks and universities were invited to share their insights on two major issues including revisiting the debt situation in AfricaandChina and the way out of African debt distress. This webinar aims to deepen understanding of Africa's debt issue and China's role.

Chen Dongxiao, President of SIIS, delivered a welcome remark. The event was moderated by Zhou Yuyuan from the Center for West Asian and African Studies of SIIS and Ye Yu from the Institute of World Economics of SIIS. Jilles Djon, director of the African Chamber of Commerce in China, made a concluding speech. Prof. Chen Dongxiao pointed out that the debt situation in Africa remains vulnerable although the African economy as a whole is showing signs of steady recovery. This reality calls for enhanced coordination and bolder actions among stakeholders on debt relief. He also noted that China has been Africa's reliable development partner and was playing a critical role in coping with Africa's debt challenges.

The panel has five speakers and discussants. Professor Deborah Brautigam, Director of the China-Africa Research Initiative Program at Johns Hopkins University, shared her research on China's loans to Africa, the proportion of Africa's foreign debt, China's debt relief to Africa, and China's participation in DSSI and the Common Framework of G20. Gregory Smith, the Emerging Market Fund manager of M&G Investment, analyzed the overall debt situation of African countries, deeply analyzed the performance and root causes of African countries' debt problems from the perspective of sovereign bonds and private creditors, and pointed out the importance of coordinated participation of different creditors. From the perspective of debt-for-development swaps, Prof. Wang Luo, director of the Institute of International Development Studies of the China Academy of International Economics and Trade, provided a new perspective for China to participate in African development and support African countries in addressing debt challenges. Hannah Ryder, founder and CEO of Development Reimagined, commented from the perspective of the experience of dealing with the debt crisis of African countries in the 1990s and the perspective of China-Africa development cooperation, especially emphasizing the importance of high-quality cooperation and sustainable financing between China and Africa. Zhou Yuyuan, senior fellow from SIIS, responded from the perspective of China's contribution to Africa's development, and posed that the relationship between short-term emergency relief and long-term debt governance should be given full attention to debt relief for Africa.

The webinar is open to the public and about 150 audiences from different countries attended.