Harry Verhoeven, founder of the Oxford University China-Africa Network, said Chinese creditors have helped African countries pursue various economic priorities, including the building of dams, hospitals, roads, railways, seaports, and much else. The debt trap narrative has been very unhelpful.

He noted that the section of African debt that has expanded the most, particularly in the last 15 years, is indebtedness to private bondholders who are mainly based in the West.

It is therefore wrong to blame one country or one institution for Africa's debt problems.