Over the past few years, the U.S. has accused China of using “debt diplomacy” to make developing nations across the world more dependent on Beijing.
Yet the cases of Sri Lanka and Pakistan — both friends of China facing dire financial situations as inflation soars — show that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government is becoming more reluctant to pull out the checkbook. China still hasn’t made good on a pledge to re-issue loans totaling $4 billion (¥501.26 billion) that Pakistan repaid in late March, and it hasn’t responded to Sri Lanka’s plea for $2.5 billion in credit support.
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