Yellen (middle) met with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema (right) in Lusaka on Monday (23rd).

(AFP)

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen launched an 11-day visit to Africa last week. On Monday (23rd), she delivered a speech in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, calling on China to agree to restructure Zambia’s debt as soon as possible. And calls China an "obstacle" to ending Zambia's debt crisis.

"Financial Times" reported that China is the largest creditor of developing countries, and Zambia defaulted on its debt of US$17 billion (NT$514.9 billion) starting in 2020, with one-third of the debt coming from China, although China and other creditors last year Agreed to debt relief, although China has so far not responded to specific measures to reduce loans.

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Yellen said: "I know that China has always been an obstacle to the completion of the negotiations." He added that when he meets with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, he will specifically discuss this issue and ask China to cooperate to find a solution as soon as possible.

If the debt is not restructured, Zambia will not be able to obtain the US$1.3 billion (NT$39.3 billion) bailout provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Yellen continued that getting Zambia out of default and restructuring the debt is the "top priority" of the United States, and they will continue to urge relevant creditors to participate in the discussion.

Analysts said that Zambia's debt restructuring was hindered because of the lack of experience and coordination of China's state-owned and development banks.

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