The China Global South Project published on 29 November 2022 a commentary titled "Letter to the Editor: A Critique of 'Chinese Summer in Finance' Views on Chinese Debt in Africa" by Thierry Pairault, National Centre of Scientific Research and EHESS Research Centre on Modern and Contemporary China.
The author counters the argument of leading Chinese experts on African debt that because African countries had in earlier years borrowed heavily from other countries and international financial organizations, China should not be held accountable for their current debt problems. The author asks: is being the latest significant lender really a valid excuse? As of 2020, 30 percent of the public and publicly guaranteed debt of sub-Saharan African countries was owed to bondholders, 20 percent to the World bank, and 17 percent to China, the largest bilateral holder of African debt.
