CHINA NOW BAILS OUT COUNTRIES AFTER PUSHING THEM INTO 'DEBT-TRAP'

Since the end of World War II, the International Monetary Fund and the United States have been the world's lenders of last resort, each wielding broad influence over the global economy. Now a new heavyweight has emerged in providing emergency loans to debt-ridden countries and that is China, New York Times reported.

New data shows that China is providing ever more emergency loans to countries, including Turkey, Argentina and Sri Lanka. China has been helping countries that have either geopolitical significance, like a strategic location, or lots of natural resources. Many of them have been borrowing heavily from Beijing for years to pay for infrastructure or other projects. While China is not yet equal to the IMF, it is catching up fast, providing USD 240 billion of emergency financing in recent years. China gave USD 40.5 billion in such loans to distressed countries in 2021.

By comparison, the IMF lent USD 68.6 billion to countries in financial distress in 2021, a pace that has stayed fairly steady in recent years except for a jump in 2020, at the start of the pandemic.