China to continue co-operation to facilitate Zambia’s debt restructuring

China will continue collaborating with all parties to advance Zambia’s debt restructuring, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday.

However, the spokesperson did not explicitly state whether China endorsed the proposed agreement between Zambia and its overseas bondholders.

On Monday, Zambia and the bondholder group announced a new agreement to restructure $3 billion of international bonds, which received approval from Zambia’s official creditors, with China being the largest among them.

Zambia defaulted over three years ago, and its debt restructuring efforts have encountered numerous hurdles.

In November, official creditors rejected a previous bond deal, citing inadequate debt relief compared to their own.

Lin Jian, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasised China’s concerted efforts as co-chair of the Zambian Debt Committee to facilitate significant progress in addressing Zambia’s debt challenges during a regular press briefing.

He reiterated China’s commitment to continue coordinating and cooperating with all relevant parties to steadily advance Zambia’s debt resolution efforts when queried about China’s stance on the latest bondholder agreement.