Murphy's Logic and reflections on 45+ years of broadcasting | SaltWireJOHANNESBURG/HONG KONG - Chinese financial institutions lent $1.34 trillion to developing countries from 2000 to 2021, U.S. researchers at AidData said in a report that showed the world's biggest bilateral lender switching from infrastructure to rescue lending.
The People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange , which manages China's foreign currency reserves, accounted for more than half of lending in 2021, almost all bailout lending. One way China is managing repayment risk is through foreign currency cash escrow accounts it controls, AidData said. The arrangement is controversial because it gives China debt seniority, meaning other lenders, including multilateral development banks, could get paid second during any coordinated debt relief.