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RE: African infrastructure development: Where does the money tree that pays for African infrastructure grow? Part 6 in a series
Hi Kiligirl, I am wondering what is in it for China? Rights to exactly what? Call me a skeptic , but there is always an agenda. 🐓🐓
Hits the nail on the head! Zinggggg!
Excellent question, @mother2chicks. There are many speculative answers to that question, and none of them is "benign altruism - they just want to help the people of Africa". As always, a question like that is more complex than it seems because the information is presented in a simplified way. In reality, it's far more than "China" investing in African infrastructure. It's their national government, state-owned entities and private sector, such as construction companies and equipment manufacturers (I've probably missed a really obvious grouping), and each has its own interests, which include securing mineral resources for the long term at low prices and securing the infrastructure to deliver it to China so they effectively create a vertically integrated system - from mine to delivery in China. African governments often say that China is really good at government to government engagement, where Western governments and multilateral institutions tend to throw in "too many conditionalities", like health, safety and environmental safeguards. We also hear about dodgy deals where governance is questionable and kickbacks are likely, but we never see forensic audit reports, so can't say for sure. I hasten to say there are certainly Chinese companies doing business honestly and with integrity in Africa, so we shouldn't tar all with the same brush. I'm going to do a slightly deeper dive into the "who funds what" question today, and will touch some more on China which may or may not go some way to more fully answering your question.😊😊