China says it supports resolving Zambia debt issues

BEIJING/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - China supports resolving Zambia's "debt issues", its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday, a day after the southern African country's finance minister said it aimed to finish its delayed debt restructuring by the first quarter of 2023.

China had been seeking "clarifications" from the Zambian government and the International Monetary fund (IMF) on an IMF report that is meant to form the basis of the debt restructuring negotiations, Situmbeko Musokotwane said on Wednesday.

"The Chinese side gives great importance to Zambia's debt issues, and has, under the G20 Common Framework, played a constructive role in the resolution of Zambia's debt," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement, in response to Reuters questions about what "clarifications" it sought.

The statement said China would "continue to ... carry out friendly consultations with all relevant parties".

Chinese creditors held about $6 billion of Zambia's $17 billion external debt at the end of 2021, according to Zambian government data.

(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing and Rachel Savage in Johannesburg; Editing by Mark Potter)