Category: Infrastructure
The U.S., China, Russia, and the UAE All Competing For Greater Access to Sudan’s Red Sea Ports
TWEET TRANSLATION:I am honored to welcome the USS Winston Churchill in Port Sudan. This historic visit shows the United States' support for the democratic transition in Sudan and our desire for a new era of cooperation and partnership with Sudan -- Brian Shukan, U.S. ...
Chinese EV Technology Powers New Green Bike and Bus Projects in East Africa
Two projects in East Africa highlight China's growing role in the region's electric transportation sector: KENYA: The Shenzhen Shenling Car Company Limited donated 49 electrified motorbikes for a new pilot project to replace gas-powered boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) in Nairobi.
New Railway in Nigeria to Push Up the Country’s Debts to China
Although Chinese loans account for just 11.28% of Nigeria's external debt stock, a senior advisor to President Buhari warned this weekend that figure is likely to go up if/when the China Exim Bank approves the $5.3 billion loan to build the Ibadan-Kano portion of a ...
Tiny Cabo Verde Seen as Big Prize in U.S.-China Battle for Influence in Africa
The small Atlantic Ocean island state of Cabo Verde appears to be taking on a much larger role within the burgeoning U.S.-China rivalry in Africa. On Tuesday, in just his fourth call to an African counterpart, the new U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke by phone ...
Analyst: Nigeria on the Cusp of a Debt Crisis, But Loans From China Not to Blame
The Nigerian Debt Management Office on Monday revealed that it has $5.8 billion of borrowed money on its books that it hasn't disbursed. This prompted new worries among some financial analysts that the actual debt-to-GDP ratio has surpassed 100%, meaning that the country has taken on so ...
Chinese Financing to Latin America Fell to Zero in 2020, Providing a Cautionary Tale For Africa and Other Developing Regions
There's new evidence of the dramatic plunge in Chinese overseas development finance. Researchers in the United States found that for the first time in more than a decade, China's two largest policy banks, the China Development Bank and the China Exim Bank, did not ...
“Them” But Also “Us”
The recent striking images of Texans stuck in freezing temperatures without electricity and queueing for water were hard to process. I felt much solidarity with them, especially when a blackout in Johannesburg made it impossible for me to join Eric ...
Kenya to Finally Extend the SGR to the Ugandan Border… Without Any Chinese Financing
Kenya's parliament approved funds to extend the Standard Gauge Railway from Naivasha in the Rift Valley all the way to Malaba on the border with Uganda. Several years ago, this extension was known as "SGR Phase 3." President Uhuru Kenyatta's requests for the financing of this phase ...
The Future of Chinese-Financed Infrastructure in Kenya
The China Road and Bridge Corporation is building a massive new half-a-billion dollar expressway right through the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. But this project is very different than previous Chinese-financed infrastructure initiatives in Kenya, like the ailing Standard ...
Amid a Worsening Debt Crisis, Kenya Struggles to Finance New Infrastructure and All Those Useless “White Elephants”
The Kenyan government, like a lot of African governments, is struggling to find the right balance between continuing to pay for badly-needed new infrastructure while at the same time servicing its enormous debts for older projects -- many of which are now so-called "white elephants" that were ...
New Map of the Belt & Road Reveals a Much More Intricate Chinese Trading Network
A trio of scholars in China recently published an academic paper in the Journal of Contemporary China that included a much more detailed map of China's Belt & Road trade routes in Asia than previously available. One of the key takeaways from the ...
All Things Considered, 2020 Wasn’t a Terrible Year For China-Africa Trade
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) released some updated figures last week on trade with Africa that tell a much more positive story than many would have assumed, given the sizable economic disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. Total two-way trade ...