ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- After repeated requests, China has offered to let Kyrgyzstan defer a scheduled debt repayment, as the impoverished Central Asian country remains under a cloud of political and economic uncertainty.
It was back in April that Kyrgyzstan first asked Beijing for some relief on the $1.8 billion it owes the Export-Import Bank of China, on loans taken for projects linked to China's Belt and Road Initiative. Since then, the COVID-19 crisis has left a huge dent in the finances of a country that, in October, saw a contentious election annulled and a president turfed out of office in less than a month.
