ISLAMABAD: China has announced to contribute $20 million to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and use $10 million of a fund from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to support regional projects for controlling the coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement has been made by Chinese Finance Ministry on Friday. The step has significant importance in the wake of US President Trump decision to withhold funding of the WHO after hurling allegations against the organisation and has failure to check the pandemic. China will continually offer help to developing countries severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic under the "South-South Cooperation" framework, said the statement on the ministry's website. The ministry pledged to endorse the G20 Action Plan, in response to the requirements of poor debtor countries, and start bilateral talks on the temporary debt repayment suspension. The ministry called on multilateral and private creditors to take actions immediately. China supports the G20 leaders' agreement on a suspension of bilateral government loan repayments for the world's poorest countries. The G20 members need to provide fast and temporary supports on the debt restructuring of low-income countries, following the "market contracting" rules of international financing and avoiding moral hazard. The suspension of debt repayments should respect and balance the willingness and interests of both creditor and debtor countries, as well as other stakeholders, the statement said. China's fiscal measures, including tax relief and direct subsidies for the epidemic control work, have been included in the G20's $5 trillion economic stimulate plan, it said. Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun said at a video conference meeting of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors this week that China supported the suspension of debt repayment for the poorest counties and pledged to contribute to the plan. He called on multilateral development banks to participate, too. "China will take a more proactive fiscal policy, raise the fiscal deficit ratio, issue special central government bonds, increase the quota of local government special bonds and continually implement tax and fee cut policy," Liu said. "All members should cooperate and intensify policies to offset shocks, through conducting strong fiscal and monetary policies and jointly maintaining stability of global industrial chains, to prepare for economic recovery," he emphasised.
