Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: China’s role as a leading financier to developing nations has shifted over the past decade, with new loans to poorer countries falling sharply while debt repayments continue to rise, according to analysis released by ONE Data.
The inaugural report by the ONE Data initiative found that many lowand middle-income countries — particularly in Africa — are now transferring more funds to China in debt payments than they receive in fresh financing from the world’s secondlargest economy, according to a Reuters report. “The fact that there’s less lending coming in, but that previous lending from China still needs to be serviced — that’s the source of the outflows,” said David McNair, executive director at ONE Data. The trend was “a net negative” for African nations, as many governments face difficulties funding public services and investment – but would at the same time promote domestic accountability as governments rely less on external financing.
In 2020-24, the most recent period for which data is available, Africa saw the largest impact, with an inflow of $30 billion in 2015-19 turning to an outflow of $22 billion. A separate piece of research suggests China’s overseas dealmaking activity rebounded in 2025, according to a report published by the Griffith Asia Institute.
The study found that deals for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reached record levels of $213.5 billion last year, including $128.4 billion in construction contracts and $85.2 billion in investments, with Africa emerging as the largest recipient.
