Ahead of global climate talks, activists in Kenya successfully blocked a Chinese-backed coal plant at a world heritage site.
China, America, and a New Cold War in Africa?
Is the conflict in South Sudan the opening salvo in the battle for a continent?
Will China Wear Out Its Welcome in Africa?
From the eight-lane Nairobi-Thika highway built by Chinese construction companies to the ubiquitous Chinese restaurants around town, the signs of China’s activity are everywhere in Kenya—right down to the friendly nihao called out by Kenyans as I walk down a Nairobi street. Elsewhere on the continent, however, the seams of this tight relationship are becoming stretched.
Why Africa Is Turning to China
Many African governments prefer China as an economic partner over Western countries for a number of reasons. First, China’s own development experience has instructive value. Second, China fulfills Africa’s need for critical infrastructure more cheaply, less bureaucratically, and more quickly. And finally, China portrays Africa more positively as a partner in “mutually beneficial cooperation” and “common prosperity,” rather than a “doomed continent” requiring aid.