Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (b) the US Government and (c) global financial institutions on the level of Chinese debt in the global south.

China is an important source of aid, finance and investment for many countries. The UK played a leading role in establishing the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments that, for the first time, brought China into a coordinated platform to address growing debt burdens. We advocate for timely treatments by China and other G20 countries to address issues of debt distress. We are also working with partners such as the G7, which includes the US, to ensure low and middle income countries have an alternative to strategic dependence on China or any other country. Through British Investment Partnerships, the UK is providing honest, reliable investment that creates jobs, boosts economic growth and draws countries closer to major free-market democracies.