A senior Chinese envoy has said Bangladesh should never worry about bad debt or the so-called debt trap, noting that Dhaka has managed foreign debt very well with an excellent system in place.
 
“I would say that you’ve managed foreign debt very, very well, and there’s no such bad debt so far at all. You’ve earned a very, very high credit (recognition) internationally in terms of (managing) international debts. So, never worry about that,” Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming said.

He made the remarks while responding to a question at an online symposium titled “Bangladesh-China Relations: Prognosis for the Future” hosted by the Cosmos Foundation and premiered on its Facebook page on Thursday evening.

The example of Sri Lanka came up in the context of a country that fell into a “debt trap” as a result of public investment projects financed by China. The island nation was forced to lease out the Hambantota port to China after failing to deal with the spiraling debt.

Ambassador Li, who delivered the keynote address at the symposium, however, said there is no proven evidence that China created any “debt trap” in any country, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

“I think you have an excellent system and you’ve excellent officials and ministers to take care of that. So, never worry about that,” said the ambassador.

Referring to an article he read regarding Sri Lanka's debt situation, the Chinese envoy said the total Chinese debt accounts for only less than 8 percent of the whole debt of that country.

The ambassador also said there is government to government debt, which is normally a soft, concessional loan with very low interest and for a very long period of time.

(SAM)