by RANGARIRAI MLAMBO
China does not put conditions on its loans to Africa
Research suggests that in the 1980s, loans from the World Bank had an average of sixty conditions, compared to a much lower figure for Chinese-originated loans.
An example of this is a $2 billion “oil-for-infrastructure” loan that Angola negotiated with the China Export-Import Bank in 2004 after failing to meet the conditions of several IMF programmes.
While this loan was at below-market rates with an attractive repayment window, it was not an “unconditional” loan, but simply a cheap loan. In the aftermath of this event, Angola was subsequently able to repay some of its debts using the oil revenues it gained from its infrastructure investments.
Citizen for more