Chinese overseas development finance is unrecognizable from what it was just a few years ago. After suffering tens of billions of dollars in losses, Chinese lenders have moved to de-risk their lending to countries in Africa, Asia, and across the Global South. Instead of those once massive bilateral loans from the two main policy banks in Beijing, Chinese lending now encompasses a much more diverse array of actors, particularly in Africa.
This new approach was on full display last month when Kenya closed a deal with a consortium of Chinese stakeholders to finance the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway from the current terminus in the Rift Valley to the Ugandan border. A third of the cost to build the new railway will be paid for by the Kenyan government, around another third will be comprised of a consortium of Chinese investors, and the rest will be financed with loans from the China Exim Bank.
