South Africa is Excited, Confused by China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Research

The Institute for Global Dialogue's seminar on South African perceptions of the BRI. Image via IGD's YouTube channel.

South Africa was one of the earliest African countries to sign on to the Belt and Road Initiative. However, elites in the country still sometimes find the initiative confusing. These are the findings of a survey conducted by the Institute for Global Dialogue, a leading think tank in the country.

These findings were recently laid out in a new policy brief and seminar. They show that while the communication around the BRI coming from Beijing captured the attention of South African elites, the breadth of the initiative and its evolution have sparked some confusion.

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by Cobus van Staden

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