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China lent the developing world about $1.4 trillion through its Belt and Road. Now it is lending out less than it is receiving in repayments. Developing countries are paying China a record $35 billion in debt repayments this year, with $22 billion from the 75 poorest. In 2012 only 18 countries paid China more than they borrowed. By 2023 that number reached 60. New loans dropped to about $7 billion a year. In 2024 countries paid China roughly $34 billion more than they received. In 2010 only 5% of China’s overseas loans went to countries already in serious financial trouble. By 2022 it was about 60%. China has mostly offered quiet help instead of big debt cuts, providing roughly $240 billion in emergency support including $170 billion in currency swaps. It usually gives more time to repay rather than reducing what is owed. One study found China is making only about 1.7% a year in real terms on these loans, basically break-even. The lenders are Chinese state banks, so any losses fall on Chinese taxpayers. Much of the lending is secret. Rhodium estimated about $78.5 billion was renegotiated or written off between 2020 and early 2023. China Exim alone has over $289 billion in outstanding loans, and more than half the portfolio has already started requiring principal repayments. Debt owed to Chinese state creditors is roughly 33% of GDP in Laos, 29% in Angola, and 28% in Zambia. The Belt and Road was sold as a gift of roads and ports. It is becoming the world’s largest debt-collection effort, and the bill for any losses lands in Beijing.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been asked by three top House Republican chairs to brief Congress behind closed doors on November 18 about his close ties to Alice Huang. Brian Mast, John Moolenaar, and Rick Crawford want answers on his interactions with the Megaspeed executive, whom U.S. intelligence reportedly identified as a Chinese intelligence asset gathering information for Beijing. Surveillance showed extensive contact between them. Officials have said they do not believe Huang knowingly aided foreign espionage. At the same time, companies tied to Megaspeed have continued buying large volumes of advanced AI chips, highlighting ongoing gaps in export controls. The letter frames this as a core national security issue for Congress.