China not Africa's largest creditor: spokesperson

BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- China is not the largest creditor of Africa as data from the World Bank shows that nearly three fourths of Africa's external debt came from multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors, a Chinese spokesperson said Saturday.

China has always been committed to helping African countries to ease their debt burden, Wang Chao, spokesperson for the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, said at a press conference, refuting the claim that China is creating the so-called "debt traps" in Africa under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

China has been actively engaged in the Group of 20 (G20) Debt Service Suspension Initiative and case-by-case debt treatment, Wang said, adding that the country has suspended the most debt service payments among G20 members.

In carrying out Belt and Road cooperation, China never attaches any political strings or seeks any selfish political gains, he said.

The BRI, proposed by China in 2013, has become a highly popular global public good and cooperation platform, as over 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations have signed BRI cooperation documents in the past decade, and the BRI has made contributions to economy, employment and livelihood of countries concerned, he said.

China will join hands with all partners to make new progress in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and provide legal safeguard for the cooperation, Wang added.