A civil society group on Sunday said China was repeating the mistakes of international creditors from the 1970s by imposing “conditionalities” on its loans.

Lidy Nacpil, coordinator Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development, said that like in the 1970s, China has been imposing conditionalities on its loans such as choosing Chinese companies and workers for China-funded projects.

Nacpil said that while China offers lower interest rates for its loans compared to market rates, commercial banks would never tell borrowers what company to hire or which nationalities should work on a project.

“It’s because China has not learned from the many critiques that some of the governments in Europe have already taken heed,” Nacpil said in an interview with ANC.

Nacpil also said Filipinos should be wary of China’s financing for energy projects which tend to favor coal plants and massive hydroelectric projects.

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