MSM keeps claiming that China is ready to join the debt relief effort. However, every indication from China is that it doesn't agree with World Bank, Paris Club or IMF's way of restructured debt.
From the look of it, even though China is only represented 22% of the loan but 75% of Zambia's debt that needed to restructure is owed to China. That means many Western institutional and private debts are off limit for restructuring. No wonder China isn't interested in the deal.
More than 70 low-income nations face a collective $326 billion debt burden, with more than half of them already in or near debt distress, including Zambia, Ethiopia and Ghana. In many cases, China is the largest creditor. For instance,
75% of Zambia’s debt that has to be restructured is owed to China, according to the IMF.
Of Zambia’s external debt, 46% is owed to private lenders, 22% to China, 8% to other governments and 18% to multilateral institutions. China is among the government lenders to agree a longer debt repayment schedule that private lenders, including banks, have so far resisted, Debt Justice said.