Table of Contents
WHY CHINA BETTING ON AFRICA?
- China has taken a pragmatic approach to invest in Africa taking advantage of excellent growth opportunities.
- In 2015, China’s President Xi Jinping announced a plan to invest $60bn in development projects across Africa. The benefits for African nations include the reduction of poverty, increase of health infrastructure and industrialisation.
- The Chinese-African relationship is not without flaws as many grow distrustful of Chinese geopolitical influence, even at times describing it as neo-colonialism.
- The apparent trade of African minerals in return for infrastructure and finance will only further increase African dependence on foreign governments, particularly China..
- At first glance the Chinese-African relationship seems simple and based on Chinese exploitation of African resources, however the relationship is very complex and multi-layered.
- In essence, Africa is the experimental ground in China’s pursuit of binding the developing economies of the world together.