Why fears of China’s neocolonialism in Africa ring false in the face of numbers that tell a different tale
Chen Xi says the persistent narrative of a Chinese debt trap in Africa is rooted in the West’s fear of losing its colonial backyard and is not backed up by the data
In fact, according to research conducted by Boston University and Johns Hopkins University, Chinese loans have been largely used to develop the continent’s poor infrastructure. About 40 per cent of the loans were utilised for power generation and transmission and 30 per cent flowed to upgrading its outdated transport facilities.
What’s more, China usually offers loans with relatively low interest rates and long repayment periods, and recently announced that some of Africa’s least-developed countries would be exempted from outstanding debt. Therefore, it is unfair to say that China may use sovereign debt as “cheap opium” to compel obedience from African countries.