China the world’s biggest debt collector, report shows

China is owed over $1 trillion (€935 billion) through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), making it the world’s biggest debt collector, a report has said.

The report, published on Monday by researchers at AidData, showed the world’s biggest bilateral lender switching from infrastructure to rescue lending, with an estimated 80% of the loans supporting countries in financial distress.

“Beijing is navigating an unfamiliar and uncomfortable role — as the world’s largest official debt collector,” AidData said in its report.

“Total outstanding debt — including principal but excluding interest — from borrowers in the developing world to China is at least $1.1 trillion,” said the research institute that tracks development finance at Virginia’s College of William and Mary.

Source: DW