本文轉自:中國日報網
西方國家頻頻抹黑中國給非洲帶來“債務危機”,但英國活動團體“債務正義”7月11日釋出的最新調查顯示,非洲國家欠西方銀行、資產管理公司和石油交易商的債務,是其欠中國債務的3倍;前者收取的利率也是中國的兩倍。“債務正義”政策負責人蒂姆·瓊斯指出:“西方領導人將非洲的債務危機歸咎於中國,但這是在轉移注意力。事實上,他們自己的銀行、資產管理公司和石油交易商的責任更大,但七國集團卻讓他們置身事外。”
[Photo/Agencies]
African countries owe three times more debt to Western banks, asset managers and oil traders than to China, and are charged double the interest, according to a study released on July 11th by British campaign charity Debt Justice. This is despite the growing accusations by the US and other Western countries that China’s lending is behind the debt troubles faced by some African countries. The study said just 12 percent of the continent’s external debt was owed to Chinese lenders, compared to 35 percent owed to Western private creditors, according to calculations based on World Bank data.
英國活動團體“債務正義”7月11日公佈的一項研究顯示,非洲國家欠西方銀行、資產管理公司和石油交易商的債務是來自中國貸款的三倍,利息是中國的兩倍。儘管如此,美國等其他西方國家仍不斷指責中國是一些非洲國家債務問題的幕後推手。該研究表示,根據世界銀行資料計算,僅12%的非洲國家外債來自中國銀行,而高達35%的債務來自西方私營機構。
Interest rates charged on private loans were almost double those on Chinese loans, while the most indebted countries were less likely to have their debt dominated by China, the study found. The average interest rate on private sector loans is 5 percent, compared to 2.7 percent on loans from Chinese public and private lenders.
研究發現,與中國公有和私營銀行2.7%的貸款利率相比,西方私營機構的平均利率高達5%,幾乎是前者的兩倍。對於那些負債最多的非洲國家而言,他們最大的債主也不太可能是中國。
The study was released ahead of the G20 finance ministers meeting from July 15-16 in Indonesia. Campaigners are calling on Western countries, particularly Britain and the US, to compel private lenders to take part in the Common Framework – the G20’s latest debt relief scheme. The study found a dozen of the 22 African countries with the highest debts were paying more than 30 percent of their total external repayments to private lenders. These included Cabo Verde, Chad, Egypt, Gabon, Malawi, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia and Zambia.
這份研究在7月15日至16日在印度尼西亞舉辦的二十國集團(G20)財長會議前夕釋出。該機構旨在呼籲西方國家,特別是英國和美國,敦促私人貸款方參加債務減免共同框架。研究指出,在22個債務水平最高的非洲國家中,包括維德角、查德、埃及、加彭、馬拉維、摩洛哥、盧安達、塞內加爾、突尼西亞和尚比亞等在內的12個國家超過30%的外債均來自私營借貸機構。
South Sudan is one of the hardest hit in this category, with 81 percent of its debt repayments going to private creditors, and just 11 percent to China. Ghana is also paying more than half of its external debt obligations to the private sector, with 11 percent going to China and the rest to multilateral lenders and other governments.
其中南蘇丹向私營借貸方借貸佔比最高,81%的外債都來自私營借貸方,而其所欠中國外債僅佔總量的11%。迦納所欠的外債中,超過50%來自私營機構,11%來自中國,剩餘部分則來自多邊組織和其他外國政府。
Chinese lenders accounted for more than 30 percent of loan payments in six of the 22 most indebted countries – Angola, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Zambia.
在22個債務最多的非洲國家中,僅有六個國家(安哥拉、喀麥隆、剛果共和國、吉布提、衣索比亞和尚比亞)超過三成的外債來自中國。
Debt Justice policy head Tim Jones said Western leaders blamed China for debt crises in Africa, “but this is a distraction”.
債務正義政策負責人蒂姆·瓊斯表示,西方領導人將非洲的債務危機歸咎於中國,“是在轉移注意力”。
“The truth is their own banks, asset managers and oil traders are far more responsible but the G7 are letting them off the hook.” Jones said China had taken part in the G20’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative during the pandemic, while private lenders did not. “There can be no effective debt solution without the involvement of private lenders. The UK and US should introduce legislation to compel private lenders to take part in debt relief,” he said.
“實際上,西方國家自己的銀行、資產管理機構和石油交易商的責任要大得多,但是七國集團卻讓他們置身事外。”瓊斯表示,新冠肺炎疫情期間,中國積極參與G20的《暫緩最貧困國家債務償付倡議》,而西方私營貸款方卻並未參加。“如果沒有私營貸款方的參與,我們就無法達成有效的債務解決方案。英美兩國應該出臺相關法律,迫使這些機構參與減緩債務。”
The G20 initiative, unveiled in May 2020, provided 48 economies with temporary cash-flow relief, delivering about US$12.9 billion in debt service payments by the end of December when it ended.
二十國集團於2020年5月發起的倡議緩解了48個國家的現金流壓力,截至2021年12月底到期前,該倡議暫停的參與國所欠其債權人債務的償還總額約為129億美元。
But the exclusion of private and multilateral lenders meant countries that applied to take part in the initiative saw just 23 percent of their external repayments suspended.
但將私人和多邊貸款機構排除在外意味著,申請參與該倡議的國家只有23%的外債被暫停。
The initiative’s replacement, the G20 Common Framework, allows participating countries to agree to restructure debt with bilateral lenders and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The nations are then supposed to seek similar debt treatment from private sector creditors. The G7 countries have blamed China for the failure of the debt relief programme to help heavily indebted countries avoid default, doubling down in May with a statement from the finance ministers of the world’s seven most advanced economies.
作為暫緩最貧困國家債務償付倡議的替代方案,二十國集團《債務處理共同框架》允許參與國與雙邊放貸方及國際貨幣基金組織達成協議,進行債務重組。隨後,這些國家應該與私營貸款機構也達成類似的債務處理方案。今年5月,七國集團財政部長髮表宣告,將債務減緩計劃未能成功幫助重債國家避免債務違約的責任歸咎於中國。
Yungong Theo Jong, head of programmes at the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (Afrodad), said multilateral and private lenders remained the biggest creditors to African governments. “Loans from China have increased Africa’s indebtedness, but by far less than Western lenders. All lenders must participate in debt relief. Western governments must lead the way by making private lenders cancel debts,” he said.
非洲債務與發展論壇和網路專案負責人西奧·瓊則表示,非洲國家最大的債主仍然是多邊和私營借貸機構。他說:“來自中國的貸款雖然增加了非洲的債務,但其借貸規模仍然遠遠少於西方。所有借貸機構必須參與債務減緩工作,而西方國家則必須帶頭讓其私營借貸機構參與其中。”