A Tweet on Wednesday by China’s top diplomat for sub-Saharan Africa, Wu Peng, about yet another ground-breaking ceremony for a new school in Africa, this time in Ivory Coast, may seem mundane but it actually communicates three important trends in Africa-China relations:
1. INFRASTRUCTURE SOFT POWER: China doesn’t have celebrities or athletes that are of interest to African audiences but on a continent starved for infrastructure, China’s prowess in building roads, bridges, and, yes, schools is very compelling. It’s even more enticing when the infrastructure in question will serve young people, in a country where the median age is 18.9 years old.
