China-UK Development Cooperation in Africa After Brexit: Challenges and Opportunities

Editor’s Note: Until recently, China’s aid and development programs in Africa and elsewhere around the world were largely financed through the Ministry of Commerce. Then, in 2018, the government announced the creation of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) with the ambition that it would eventually become a peer to USAID, DFID, and other more established international aid agencies. Now that Beijing is expanding its aid and development programs, both through the CIDCA and various ministries, we’ve asked a variety of experts to provide their perspective on how Chinese aid stakeholders can benefit from the experiences of others to improve their own initiatives on the ground in Africa.

After over three years of dramatic internal wrangling, the United Kingdom finally left the European Union on 31 January. Important changes in the UK’s approach to international development are likely to follow “Brexit,” as aid-skeptic Prime Minister Boris Johnson aims to re-orient the UK’s aid approach to ensure it benefits the national interest and leads to new trade opportunities.