European State Media Pose Tough Questions About Railway Financing in Kenya While Overlooking One Very Important Point

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta flags off the inaugural Nairobi-Suswa, Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line constructed by the Chinese Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and financed by Chinese government, on October 16, 2019 in Nairobi. SIMON MAINA / AFP

It’s so interesting to see EU/US coverage of the SGR debt issue in Kenya when their state-run media channels constantly point out this new rail line is unprofitable. Sure, but consider that in 2018 Germany spent $13.3 billion to subsidize its rail operations.

The fact is virtually no rail system anywhere in the world is profitable, much less within its first few years of operation. Also, these same international news outlets fail to mention one very important key fact when reporting on Chinese loans used to build infrastructure: debt levels, while rising, are by no means a crisis for most of the continent.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Eric Olander

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
4
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
5
Thailand in Last-Minute U.S. Talks as 36% Tariff Looms
6 Trump’s Contradictory Iran Strategy Leaves U.S. Weaker After War’s End, Says Chinese Commentator

You Might Like

Kenyan Professor Explains Why China, Not the West, Became Nairobi’s Creditor of Choice

When Kenya embarked on its national infrastructure development agenda back in the early 2000s, policymakers didn’t have a lot of options when it came to financing. Traditional lenders weren’t interested and the cost ...

PGII Will Channel a Lot of Private Capital to Developing Countries But What About the Debt?

Even as the G7 was unveiling its new Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII), protesters in the Alpine town hosting the summit were calling for more action on infrastructure-related debt. This ...

No Surprise, Chinese State Media Didn’t Think Much of PGII, But They Actually Raised a Few Interesting Points

The Chinese nationalist tabloid Global Times was among the first to launch broadsides against the G7’s latest effort to challenge the Belt and Road. Predictably, the paper interviewed several scholars who all discredited ...

Kenya’s President Doesn’t Want to Hear Any Lectures From U.S., EU-Led Donors As Country Restructures Its Debt

President Uhuru Kenyatta warned international development agencies, and the U.S. and Europe on Friday against using Kenya’s current debt crisis as a pretext to lecture the country and interfere in its affairs. “Please, ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP