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WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wants Latin America to trade more with the United States as part of an initiative that so far has failed to disrupt China’s dominance in global manufacturing. The Inter-American Development Bank, which is the biggest multilateral lender to Latin America, would support new projects through grants, lending and new programs. But if you’re not involved, this opens the door for anybody” to invest in Latin America. Latin America will be a region of increased focus in the next year, as Brazil takes the presidency of the Group of 20 international forum. A Treasury official told the AP that Yellen will be traveling frequently to South America and Latin America over the next year, due to Brazil's G-20 presidency.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Yellen, ” Yellen, Ilan Goldfajn, you’re, ” Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Inter, American Development Bank, Partnership, Economic Prosperity, ’, White, “, Boston University Global Development, El, Associated Press, Treasury Department, Treasury, AP Locations: America, United States, U.S, Caribbean, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, China, South America, American, Honduras, Taiwan, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Brazil, Latin America

BEIJING (AP) — China's Belt and Road Initiative looks to become smaller and greener after a decade of big projects that boosted trade but left big debts and raised environmental concerns. Called “One Belt, One Road” in Chinese, the Belt and Road Initiative started as a program for Chinese companies to build transportation, energy and other infrastructure overseas funded by Chinese development bank loans. China became a major financer of development projects under BRI, on par with the World Bank. Chinese development banks provided money for the BRI projects as loans, and some governments have been unable to pay them back. Now, having learned the hard way through defaults, China development banks are pulling back.

Persons: Xi Jinping's, Xi, “, Alessia Amighini, Kevin Gallagher, Sri Lanka, Christoph Nedopil, Nedopil, Colleen Barry Organizations: BEIJING, Initiative, Silk, Italy, World Bank, Boston University Global Development Policy Center, U.S, Export, Import Bank of, Asia Institute, Griffith University, Associated Press Locations: Beijing, Africa, Asia, Latin America, China, Europe, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Pakistan, Italy, “ Italy, Sri Lankan, Zambia, Sri, Import Bank of China, Australia, BRI, Hungary, Milan

☆ Belt and Road Forum: Beijing to host global gathering as Xi Jinping lays out China's vision
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, whose on-going assault on Ukraine is another major point of global instability and division, is expected to attend. The last time he was in Beijing was for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in early 2022. Winning backing for China’s global leadership from a broad swath of developing and emerging economies is key to Xi’s strategy to push back against perceived international threats, analysts say. Overseas development finance from China’s two major development banks has also decreased significantly since a peak in 2016, the report’s data show. Ten years on, Chinese decision makers are becoming “more selective and more calculating” about the benefits of their financing, she said.

Persons: Xi Jinping, laud China’s, –, weren’t, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, ”, Craig Singleton, “, Kenya . Han Xu, Li Mingjiang, ” Jonathan Fulton, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Cyril Ramaphosa, Narendra Modi, Sergei Lavrov, Alet Pretorius, ” It’s, Liang, Yun Sun Organizations: CNN, Global, Initiative, Foundation for Defense, Democracies, Getty, Communist Party, Hamas, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, Officials, Atlantic Council, Indian, Russia's, Boston University Global Development, Center, World Bank, Overseas, China’s National, Reform, China Program, Stimson Locations: China, Beijing, United States, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Washington, Kenya ., Xinhua, Russia, Moscow, China’s, Abu Dhabi, Fulton, Johannesburg, New Delhi, saddling

☆ China has poured billions into Africa’s infrastructure. Is it now tightening the tap?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The impact of those funds is felt across Africa, where residents in major cities like Lagos, Nairobi and Addis Ababa now transit daily via railways, highways and airports built in recent years with Chinese loans and often by Chinese construction firms. But understanding how much money is flowing out of China into global development is notoriously tricky as Beijing doesn’t share this data openly and a wide range of financial entities play roles. How all this plays out could have a significant impact on developing countries’ access to much-needed infrastructure funding. China is also navigating the second decade of the Belt and Road amid stark economic challenges at home. China in 2017 released guidance on promoting a “green” Belt and Road, which called for sustainable development and strengthening environmental protection.

Persons: laud, Xi, Roberto Matchissa, Oyintarelado Moses, ”, Moses, Ammar A, Malik, “, Austin Strange, Yasuyoshi Chiba, AidData’s Malik, HKU’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Initiative, Boston University Global Development, Center, Getty, CNN, Global China Initiative, Global Development Policy, William, Mary’s Global Research Institute, University of Hong, Global Development Locations: China, Hong Kong, Africa, Beijing, Lagos, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Ukraine, Maputo, Katembe, Mozambique, AFP, Kazakhstan, Zambia, Ghana, University of Hong Kong, Kenya, United States, China’s

☆ Analysis: No China, no deal: Bid to break sovereign debt logjams gets weary thumbs up
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Libgeorge Marc Jones | Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LONDON, April 13 (Reuters) - The latest bid by the world's leading institutions and creditors to speed up debt restructurings and get bankrupt countries back on their feet has been greeted by a mix of cautious optimism and weary scepticism by veteran crisis watchers. The somewhat loose framework around sovereign restructurings has seen Beijing seek to influence the traditional rules of engagement in these processes. The Common Framework platform introduced by leading G20 nations in 2020 aimed to bring all creditors, including China, together and streamline negotiations. Anna Ashton, director of China research at Eurasia Group, said this week’s developments underscored the benefits for China to give some ground on some of its concerns. "China is a difficult partner to talk to but we need China at the table for the solution of debt problems, because otherwise we won't see any progress," Lindner said.

☆ No China, no deal: Bid to break sovereign debt logjams gets weary thumbs up
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Libgeorge Marc Jones | Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

☆ Half a trillion in debt haircuts essential for sustainability - study
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The haircuts on debt owed to public and private creditors by 61 of the nations that are already in or are at most risk of debt distress are essential to avoid "cascading defaults," according to calculations from the Boston University Global Development Policy Center and the Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery (DRGR) Project. "Without ambitious debt relief, many of the poorest countries don't have a chance," said Kevin P. Gallagher, DRGR project co-chair and director of the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. Reuters GraphicsThe researchers found that some $812 billion in debt across all creditor classes should be in scope for restructuring. To achieve the best outcome, researchers proposed to include instruments that had alleviated previous emerging market debt crises. Ratings agency Fitch said there are currently a record number of sovereign debt defaults, while the International Monetary Fund said 25% of emerging markets and 60% of low-income countries are in or near debt distress.

☆ Analysis: Cash-strapped countries face IMF bailout delays as debt talks drag on
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

IMF funding is often the sole financial lifeline available to countries in a debt crunch, and key to unlocking other financing sources, with delays putting pressure on government finances, companies and populations. Though staff agreements can be reached without financing assurances, the IMF board needs them to approve the programme. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday the country is willing to "constructively" participate in solving debt problems of relevant countries under a multilateral framework. But Beijing has always emphasised all creditors should follow the principle of "joint action, fair burden" in debt settlements. Adding another layer of complexity to these debt talks, the Common Framework doesn't lay out precise rules on how a debt restructuring with bilateral creditors should work.

☆ China's EXIM bank gives Sri Lanka debt extension
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Jan 26 (Reuters) - China's Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM) has provided Sri Lanka with a debt extension, China's foreign ministry said on Thursday, confirming a Reuters report earlier this week. EXIM offered Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on its debt and said it would support the country's efforts to secure a $2.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters. Regional rivals China and India are the biggest bilateral lenders to Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people that is facing its worst economic crisis in seven decades. At the end of 2020, China EXIM loaned Sri Lanka $2.83 billion which is 3.5% of the island's debt, according to an IMF report released in March last year. EXIM is a policy bank tasked by Beijing with lending to governments and key industries globally.

[1/2] A woman takes pictures of the China Development Bank booth at the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 3, 2021. Commitments made to 100 developing nations by the Export-Import Bank of China (China EximBank) and the China Development Bank (CDB) have fallen every year since hitting a record in 2016 as the lenders scaled back financing even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. "We expect an overall shift toward lower volume, higher quality investment from China," Kevin Gallagher, director of the university's Global Development Policy Center, told Reuters. Reuters GraphicsWORLD BANK STEPS INWhile Chinese lending has been waning, World Bank lending has ramped up, the study found. Overall, China's commitments were 83% of the $601 billion lent by the World Bank from 2008-2021.

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - A failure to secure meaningful progress on a debt relief for the world's poorest nations at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meeting in Washington has left policymakers, campaigners and investors frustrated. Two years ago the Group of 20 launched the Common Framework - a mechanism designed to provide a swift and comprehensive debt overhaul to nations buckling under debt burdens after COVID-19 shock that would reach beyond temporary debt payment moratoriums. The Common Framework is a good start, but you need some fixes." China's role as a lender to poorer nations and Beijing's foot-dragging on debt relief drew much ire at the Washington meeting. JPMorgan's Joyce Chang, whose bank held an investor seminar alongside the IMF World Bank gathering, said asset managers had more discussions on repayment challenges and restructurings for emerging markets than at any time since the 1990s.

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