China has quietly become the world's largest international lender of last resort.

As the Belt and Road Initiative faces mounting debt crises and corruption allegations, China has pivoted to massive bailout lending. This video examines the scale and nature of these interventions, revealing how China is managing the fallout of its global infrastructure investments.

A comprehensive study by researchers from the World Bank, William & Mary, Harvard, and the Kiel Institute reveals that China issued 128 bailout loans totaling $240 billion to 20 different countries between 2000 and 2021. While these efforts span two decades, the pace has accelerated dramatically, with the majority of lending occurring in the last five years and nearly 50% of the total volume concentrated between 2019 and 2021.

The research highlights a critical shift in strategy: while direct loans are common, the People’s Bank of China’s currency swap lines have become a more significant tool for providing liquidity to struggling nations. This lending surge follows widespread financial instability linked to Belt and Road projects, which have been hampered by debt write-offs and project-specific scandals.

Source: China's Overseas Bailouts!