Africa's first modern electrified railway, the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway built by Chinese firms, opened in 2016. Photo: Xinhua
‘China has a grand, strategic plan. We don’t’: how Djibouti became a microcosm of Beijing’s growing foothold in Africa
- China has financed ports, railways, airports and naval bases, as well as servers that house most or all of the internet for Somalia, Yemen and Ethiopia
- But critics fear African countries could be left in ‘debt-traps’, and risk those assets being taken back by China. Beijing now holds over 70 per cent of Djibouti’s GDP in debt
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China-Africa relations
Africa's first modern electrified railway, the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway built by Chinese firms, opened in 2016. Photo: Xinhua