China to strengthen support for poor countries in debt treatments: finance minister

BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to participate in debt treatments of the poorest countries while staying in close communication with other parties, Finance Minister Liu Kun said.

China will act on the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) extension, and work with other bilateral and multilateral creditors to strengthen support for countries hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, Liu said in an interview published Friday on the ministry's website.

The DSSI was launched by the G20 in April to address the short-term liquidity needs of low-income countries as the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a huge blow to the global economy.

China will encourage its commercial creditors to participate in the DSSI, and help the poorest countries combine efforts to address debt challenges and restore economic and social development, Liu said.

China will further provide assistance within its capacity to developing countries through bilateral and multilateral channels, including extending 2 billion U.S. dollars of international assistance over two years and offering developing countries COVID-19 vaccine on a priority basis when it becomes available, he added.

Stressing that the debt issue of developing countries has been a long-standing one, Liu said the key to solving this issue is development.

As the largest developing country, China has actively engaged in investment and financing cooperation with these countries to help them improve their self-development capacity, so as to help these nations achieve independent and sustainable development, the minister said.