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But if the report was false, its publication forced the Chinese government to speak publicly about the type of agreement reached.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying told CNN: "China has agreed to give up interest-free intergovernmental debt that Cameroon has not repaid by the end of 2018. ".
In short, it was a tiny part of Cameroon's responsibility towards China.
So why the initial secret?
Backlash of African debt
China may have also sought an arrangement under the radar because of political unrest in Cameroon.
The West African nation is fighting against a Boko Haram insurgency in the north, while a secessionist movement destabilizes the two English-speaking regions of the predominantly French-speaking nation born from the unification of a former British colony and of a former French colony.
Due to unrest, Cameroon no longer has the right to host the 2019 African Nations Cup, the continent's quadrennial football championship, which will now be held in Egypt.
But Biya, 85, who has ruled Cameroon for 36 years, is increasingly looking like an "inappropriate partner" from a business perspective, as China is increasingly being watched. said Chris Roberts, a political scientist at the University of Calgary. .
"Cameroon in every way, shape or form is getting worse every day in every metric," Roberts said. "This regime has dismantled its foundations for a stable economy."
Deep pockets, deep port
China established diplomatic relations with Cameroon in 1971. Their economic partnership was strengthened after the appointment of Nicolas Sarkozy to the presidency of France in 2007 and the supervision of the reduction of relations of his country with his former colonial territory, leaving a void to fill for Beijing.
The current port of Douala, Cameroon, was overworked, dilapidated and limited by its location in an estuary filled with sediment.
Once completed in 2035, Kribi will be the largest deepwater port in the region. It will deal with exports of bauxite, iron ore and other minerals from Cameroon and could also serve the Chad-Cameroon oil and pipeline development project, which pumps oil from Chad, a landlocked country.
The port of Kribi will also extend the reach of the Maritime Silk Road in China, an initiative to which Senegal subscribed last year. This is an important part of the economic development plan of President Xi's One Belt One Road multinational.
"The Gulf of Guinea is strategic for China," says Xavier Auregan, a specialist in Sino-African relations in French-speaking countries, explaining that a base is strengthening its interests in West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire and the Caribbean. Ivory in Gabon.
"Cameroon is one of the countries that can bring together the energy infrastructure of … West Africa."
China has also undoubtedly benefited from these developments, with many contracts with its companies.
"If you say we lent that money for this project or this development effort and we write it just because we know we will never get it back," Roberts said, "it has a national effect, but it also has international implications. "
One of the main concerns about Chinese loans in Africa is the diplomacy that traps the debt – the idea that Beijing will put pressure on countries that can not repay their loans so that they hand over badets key.
Last December, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta denied that the gigantic port of Mombasa, Kilindini, the largest port in East Africa, was pledged as security for a Chinese loan. billions of dollars to finance a railway. China has also denied the report. In Djibouti, similar concerns were expressed about China's recent acquisition of a stake in a port there.
Tension of gold mines
China's decision to lighten its debt in Cameroon also comes at a difficult time between the country's traditional mining community and Chinese mining companies.
East Cameroon is rich in gold. Justin Kamga, coordinator of the Association of Forests and Rural Development (FODER) in Yaoundé, said Chinese companies exploit illegal mines in the region and have little respect for the land.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
Local Cameroonian miners generally use artisbad mining methods that do not harm the environment, says Kamga. Chinese companies use heavy machinery that often marks villages with multiple holes 30 meters deep, destroying farmland.
According to Kamga, between 2012 and 2015, more than 250 excavations were abandoned, mainly by Chinese companies. Between 2015 and 2018, more than 100 people died in such holes, causing landslides and provoking local outrage from Chinese companies. In December, nine people died in such an incident, according to FODER.
The Cameroonian government has not responded to CNN's e-mails asking for comments.
Auregan said that although reckless mining has tarnished China's image, it is unlikely to be the reason for the cancellation of the 2018 debt.
"China sees the geostrategic and long-term view of the importance of Cameroon in this region," Roberts said.
In short, as long as China needs a maritime presence in West Africa, Cameroon's debt burden could be eased a little longer.
Steven Jiang of CNN also contributed to this report from Beijing.
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