Nigerian Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi acknowledged this week that he will no longer rely on China to fund two major railways and will have now have to look elsewhere for the money. The minister’s comments shouldn’t come as a big surprise, though, given the plunge in overseas development lending by China’s two major policy banks in recent years.
China is now largely out of the business of loaning large amounts of money to build major infrastructure projects in Africa and is instead focusing on smaller, more targeted initiatives in the health, digital, power and green energy sectors that have clearer path to profitability.
Abuja-based Development Reimagined Policy Analyst Ovigwe Eguegu closely follows Chinese development finance trends in Africa and joins Eric & Cobus from Addis Ababa to discuss what appears to be a new era of China’s economic engagement on the continent.
SHOW NOTES:
- The China Africa Project: Q&A: Nigerian Representative Ben Igbakpa Explains Why He Wants to Investigate 20 Years of Chinese Loans by Ovigwe Eguegu — https://bit.ly/3L9hMMV
- The Hoover Institution at Stanford University: Comments by Jendayi Fraser and Reuben Lifuka on China’s sharp rise in Africa — https://youtu.be/HfWEMM1eLMc
- Network 20/20: Comments by Gyude Moore and Jennifer Hillman on Beijing’s Expanding Economic Orbit: Evaluating China’s Belt and Road Initiative — https://youtu.be/5aMxyz9mULc
- Spice FM: Comments by Kenya ICT Minister Joe Mucheru on the SGR contract: https://youtu.be/94-E_kVixwU
JOIN THE DISCUSSION:
CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque | @ovigweeguegu | @devreimagined
JOIN US ON PATREON!
Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!
