Friday’s FT article by correspondent Steve Johnson on the merits of Chinese development financing provoked considerable discussion online this weekend about the key issues raised in the story and how the topic is framed in simple “good vs. bad” terms.
Johnson explored the different, less transparent approach to development finance that Beijing takes compared to traditional donors in the U.S. and Europe. One of the key issues that emerged is how much longer the western approach takes and how that is increasingly viewed as an impediment for African borrowers who often have political objectives tied to infrastructure projects and therefore appreciate the fast delivery of Chinese financing that comes with fewer bureaucratic obstacles.
