BEIJING\/ WASHINGTON
\nChina on Thursday called remarks by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen \u201cirresponsible\u201d and \u201cunreasonable\u201d after Yellen said Beijing\u2019s lending activities leave developing countries \u201ctrapped in debt.\u201d
\nYellen on Wednesday said she was concerned by some of China\u2019s activities globally, particularly it\u2019s lending to developing countries. She told US lawmakers in a hearing that Washington was working hard to counter China\u2019s influence in international institutions and in lending to developing nations.
\nChina has lent hundreds of billions of dollars to build infrastructure in developing countries, but lending has tailed off since 2016 as many projects have failed to pay the expected financial dividends.
\n\u201cI am very, very concerned about some of the activities that China engages in globally, engaging in countries in ways that leave them trapped in debt and don\u2019t promote economic development,\u201d Yellen said on Wednesday.
\nIn response, the Chinese government on Thursday said the debt problems of the world were made worse by the United States due to what Beijing called an \u201cunprecedented rate\u201d of interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.
\n\u201cWe do not accept unreasonable accusations from the United States,\u201d Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a news briefing on Thursday.
\n\u201cThe United States should take practical actions to help developing countries, instead of pointing fingers at other countries and making irresponsible remarks,\u201d Mao added.
\nChina says it has always followed international rules and carried out investment and financing cooperation with developing countries with openness and transparency.
\nChina spent $240 billion bailing out 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021, with the amount soaring in recent years as more have struggled to repay loans spent building \u201cBelt and Road\u201d infrastructure, a recently published study showed.
\nChina is negotiating debt restructurings with countries including Zambia, Ghana and Sri Lanka and has been criticised for holding up the processes. In response, it has called on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to also offer debt relief.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING\/ WASHINGTON China on Thursday called remarks by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen \u201cirresponsible\u201d and \u201cunreasonable\u201d after Yellen said Beijing\u2019s lending activities leave developing countries \u201ctrapped in debt.\u201d Yellen on Wednesday said she was concerned by some of China\u2019s activities globally, particularly it\u2019s lending to developing countries. She told US lawmakers in a hearing that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-323282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n