China-Zambia Relations

 The South China Morning Post published on 19 November 2025 an article titled "Railway Deal and a Toxic Spill Likely to Top Agenda as Chinese Premier Visits Zambia" by Jevans Nyabiage.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit Zambia in route to the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Key issues on the agenda will likely be new funding for rehabilitating the Tanzania-Zambia railway, the aftereffects of a major toxic spill by a Chinese mining company in Zambia, and terms for Zambia's repayment of debt to Chinese banks.  

South Africans View China More Favorably than United States

 The Pew Research Center published on 13 November 2025 a report titled "South Africans See Their Country's Influence Weakening Ahead of G20: China Gets Higher Ratings than the U.S." by Laura Clancy, Jordan Lippert, and Manolo Corichi.  

According to a Pew survey, 57 percent of South Africans have favorable opinions of China while 50 percent hold the same view of the United States.  This is the first time ratings of China are higher than ratings of the United States since Pew began tracking South African opinion of these countries in 2008.

In addition, more South Africans say that it is important to have strong economic ties with China (50 percent) than say the same about the United States (33 percent).

How Will China Respond to Global Debt Crisis?

Panda Paw Dragon Claw posted on 21 June 2020 a commentary titled "How Will China Handle Multiple Debt Repayment Crises?" by Ma Tianjie. 

As global demand for commodities such as oil and minerals collapses, the revenue streams of exporter countries, many of which are located in Africa, have dried up.  This has led to a growing debt crisis in Africa where China holds between 17 and 20 percent of all external debt. 

President Xi Jinping pledged to write off all zero-interest loans owed to China by African countries that are due this year.  But these loans make up less than 5 percent of China's lending to Africa between 2000 and 2018.

China may not have the luxury to review its overseas lending stock on a loan-by-loan, country-by-country basis as it seems to prefer.  The debt tsunami is on its way and how China manages the challenge will be a key test of its international diplomacy, understanding of global finances, and the future of the Belt and Road Initiative. 

Africa Debt, China, and COVID-19

The World Economic Forum published on 12 May 2020 an analysis titled "How COVID-19 Will Change China and Africa's Economic Relationship" by Lauren Johnston, SOAS China Institute.

China normally renegotiates loans bilaterally and usually extends the repayment period while eschewing debt cancellation except in the case of interest free loans to the poorest countries. The author argues that debt write-off may be necessary if both China and Africa want to benefit from the post-coronavirus global economy.

Africa to China: Will You Forgive Debt?

The South China Morning Post published on 5 May 2020 an article titled "Africa Has a Question for Beijing: Will You Forgive Us Our Debt?" by Jevans Nyabiage.

African states expect a devastating impact on their economies this year from the COVID-19 pandemic and are appealing for relief from repayments on billions of dollars in outstanding debt. Most of the appeals involve China, the biggest bilateral lender to the continent, but it is unclear how Beijing will respond.

Japan and China's Summit Competition in Africa

The South African Institute of International Affairs published on 31 January 2020 an analysis titled "Japan and China's Summit Competition in Africa" by Cobus van Staden.

The author looks at how Japan's TICAD and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation engage with Africa in the G20. He also discusses the competing visions of China's Belt and Road Initiative and Japan's Free and Open Indo-Pacific.