© Reuters. Head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva 03/26/2023. REUTERS/Jing Xu
By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – International Monetary Fund head Kristalina Georgieva said she had told China’s new top economic official Li Qiang that the country should speed up its work to reach debt restructuring deals for countries including Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia.
Georgieva, who met Li and other Chinese officials during a visit to the country last month, said on Thursday that she found Li very approachable and pragmatic, and he assured her that he wanted China to play a constructive role in resolving cases. of debt relief.
“The truth is, and I was … very direct about this, it takes a long time for this (debt) resolution,” she said at an event hosted by Meridian House and Politico. “Yes, China has several institutions that deal with this, which complicates internally, but they need to accelerate their participation.”
The United States and other Western countries have blamed China for causing delays in establishing restructuring deals for heavily indebted countries that have asked for help under the Common Framework established by the Group of 20 major economies.
About 60% of low-income countries are already at risk of debt distress, and about 25% of emerging economies are at high risk and face loan spreads “similar to default”, Georgieva said.