Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Republic of Congo counterpart, Denis Sassou Nguesso, pictured in 2013. China has invested heavily in Congo-Brazzaville.
But despite the recovery of oil prices, the country, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, has had trouble getting back on top of its finances and has asked the International Monetary Fund for help. Julien Marcilly, chief economist at Coface, a firm that provides payment insurance for French companies, said that China “went full-tilt on lending in recent years, often to countries which produce and export raw materials, in particular oil.”
The drop in oil prices meant the nation’s economic output dropped by 50% As a consequence, its debt as a percentage of GDP soared to 110% in 2017.