Re-profiling Chinese debt

THERE was one line in Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s remarks last Sunday that caught my eye. In his press conference on that day, he announced that Islamabad is seeking the re-profiling of $27 billion worth of debt owed to China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as per a news report. He did not bring up the subject of debt re-profiling himself, preferring to focus his remarks on less sensitive matters such as how the tax burden should and will have to be borne. But in the question and answer session, multiple reporters asked pointed questions about his visit to China, and he slowly divulged the contents of his discussions there.