Chinese investment in Africa could create national economies ‘entirely dependent on China’, say experts
‘These firms come under the guise of partnership, but this rhetoric, combined with genuine short term benefits masks longer term problems’
“Infrastructure projects create jobs, provide an opportunity for skills development and the transfer of new technologies.
“However, these firms come under the guise of partnership, but this rhetoric, combined with genuine short term benefits masks longer term problems.”
One of the main issues around the Chinese approach is the dangerously high levels of debt that it brings, which could prove unsustainable for growing economies.
There is also a risk that the continent becomes overly dependent on one country, which could allow it to hold an uncomfortably high level of influence.
Mr Yousuf said: “China is seeking to present itself as the new face of globalisation, an image it will work hard to portray at this week’s Belt and Road summit.
“The problem with this is that the current model of their ‘globalisation’ doesn’t so much encourage increased interaction between nations on a worldwide scale, as increased interaction with China on a worldwide scale.
Published on Jul 31, 2018
China Is Loaning Billions of Dollars to African Countries. Here’s Why the U.S. Should Be Worried
Next week, China will host leaders from across Africa for a summit in Beijing. The last summit was held in December 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa, where Chinese President Xi Jinping announced $60 billion in funding support for infrastructure development in Africa.
The upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is sure to include an eye-popping announcement of billions of dollars more in Chinese financing to build infrastructure across the continent. But these massive loans can come with steep and opaque conditions….
