FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT AID OF CHINA: A

CASE STUDY OF AFRICAN

WAJAHAT AHMED KHAN

Department of Political Science, Federal

Urdu University of Arts Science and

Technology

B.S 7 Semester

Subject: Foreign Policy

Maam Anjuman

Submittion Date: 8-MAY-2023

 ABSTRACT

In this article we will discusses the interaction between China and Africans countries and the impact

of Chinese investment in Africa. It also explains how China’s investment aid African countries in their

development and growth. In this article some main projects have been discussed in Kenya Ethiopia,

Egypt etc. It has also discussed the importance of china belts and road initiatives in the following

countries in which the project is and also how with this Project how has helped boost economic

growth in African countries. Overall this article provides a positive image of China’s African

development. It also provides some negative images that the reason behind China’s investment in

Africa is something big that they are after natural resources.

 
 

CONTENT
 Sr.N Topic
o
1. Abstract

2. History of China and Africa Relation

3. List of Chinese projects in Kenya

4. China In Ethopia

5. How China Foreign Investment Reduce

Poverty In Africa

6. Relationship between China and

Egypt and Chinese Investment in Egypt
7. Conclusion

8. Reference

HISTORY OF CHINA AND AFRICAN RELATIONS

From the inceptios in 1960s and 1970s, the Chinese government supported African
Independence Movements and gave aid to newly independent African nations. Among the
most notable early projects were the 1,860 km TAZARA Railway, linking Zambia and
Tanzania, which China helped to finance and build from 1970 to 1975.
and in 1971, the United Nations had to decide which government would represent China.
Essentially, the question was which government would represent China, as there could be one
in China. The US was the main superpower that was opposing the People’s Republic of
China, as it has a strong political and military alliance with the Republic of China. So the
vote was overwhelmingly in the US sphere of influence vs. the world. Among the 35
countries that voted against the People's Republic of China were many in Africa, such as the
Central African Republic, Gabon, Liberia, Niger, South Africa, and others. Due to the US
efforts, the resolution ended up passing, and the representative government for China in the
UN was switched to the People's Republic of China, but what was interesting was not who
voted against the People's Republic of China. Since 1971, things have changed. In 2007, the
UN generally met at once to decide whether or not to pass a resolution condemning the
human rights situation in North Korea and the rest of the world. In this regard, only a few
countries in Africa have voted against China: Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana,
Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, and Tanzania. The rest of the 43 countries
didn’t vote because, since those votes in 1971, political stability has changed as much of
Africa is now backward and alienated from the rest of the world. The simple reason is that
China has invested a huge amount of money in the African continent. For example, China has
constructed a railway that cost $3.2 million in Kenya and connects the capital Nairobi to
Mombasa, which is the second largest city. The duration is 4 hours and 30 minutes, which is
quite fast. And also, China built a dam in Guinea that cost around $526 million, and because
of this project, a lot of electricity has been produced in that area. Another project that China
has built is the rail project in Addis Ababa, which is the capital of Ethiopia, which cost $476
million.

LIST OF CHINESE PROJECTS IN KENYA

There is a lot of other Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa some projects are mention.
Below:
The Belt and Road projects are the centrepiece of China's foreign policy. Through this
strategy, China aims to become a global superpower. Kenya is one of China's largest
countries and is located in the centre of East Africa. The following are the Chinese projects in
Kenya:
1. The Standard Gauge Railway
This is a huge project in China that stretches over 600 kilometres.
China invested 90% of its financial resources through the import-export Bank of China, while
the rest was cleared by the Kenyan government.
The project was officially finished in May 2017.
2. The Nairobi Motorway
This motorway is the main project of China's Protifilo in Kenya. This project cost $62 billion,
and the length is 27 kilometers which covers the road from Mlolongo to Jomo Kenyatta
Airport.
 
3. Thika Superhighway
This highway stretches from Nairobi City to Thika Town. This historic highway covers parts
of the Great North Trans-African Highway that run from Cairo, Egypt, to Cape Town, South
Africa. The cost of this project is 31 billion Kenyan shillings.
 
The project was funded by the following groups:
1. African Development Bank (US$180 million)
2. The Government of Kenya (US$80 million)
3. The Exim Bank of China (US$100 million)
4. Lampu Airport
 
This is an eye-catching project that is also game-changing in the region.
Lampu Port is the starting point, which is in South Sudan.
 
 
CHINA IN ETHIOPIA
 
Ethiopia, which is a landlocked country, is surrounded by Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya,
Sudan, and South Sudan as well. Ethiopia is the second-most populous country in Africa, but
due to the dispute in the region, this area suffers a lot. However, the United States, the
African Union, and others in the region have been trying to resolve the problems between the
federal government and the Tigery people's liberation.
 
"Upon taking office in 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed liberalised the authoritarian
Ethiopian government that the TPLF had dominated since 1991. His actions included lifting a
ban on political parties and freeing political prisoners. Abiy was also awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2019 for his efforts to end the protracted conflict between Ethiopia and
neighbouring Eritrea."
(Wednesday, January 19, 2022) By: Joseph Sany, Ph.D.; Thomas P. Sheehy
Publication Type: Analysis and Commentary
Ethiopia is one of the central hubs of China's Belt and Road Initiative; currently, there are
400 mega-construction projects in Ethiopia that cost around $4 billion. Almost all air, road,
and rail infrastructure is financed and built by Chinese companies. Because of the
development of China in Ethiopia, the economy had been growing at 10% for over a decade.
China and Ethiopia also signed a defence agreement in 2005 on joint training, the exchange
of technology, and peacekeeping missions. The military has been trained in China.

HOW CHINA FOREIGN INVESTMENT REDUCE POVERTY

IN AFRICA

Africa is going to play a key role in shaping the economic environment of the world for the
rest of the 21st century. Being the most rapidly urbanizing area in the world and projected to
double in population by 2050, addressing and controlling poverty levels in Africa will be of
significant importance. Here is how China’s foreign investment in Africa is helping to reduce
poverty.
Infrastructure Urbanization and Trade

The most important impact that China’s foreign investment in Africa has had so far is on
developing infrastructure. Following China’s domestic experience of mass investment into
infrastructure enabling advanced growth, they have initiated the same process in Africa.

China has led about 40% of all investment into infrastructure in Africa since 2011, including
some major projects such as a $12 billion railway construction along the coast of Nigeria and
an $11 billion economic zone and mega port in Bagamoyo. China is playing an essential role
in enabling this to happen as it can provide the scale at a cheaper price than anyone else.

The benefits of China’s investments in Africa are numerous. Africa has a rich resource and
mineral endowment that requires assessment. With China’s investment, opportunities to
utilize this rich resource base are becoming greater. For example, Africa now supplies more
than one-third of China’s oil and 20% of its cotton. On top of this, Africa is home to half of
the world’s manganese, which is beneficial for making steel. Other resources that are
essential for electronics are also in Africa.
 
 
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHINA AND
EGYPT AND CHINESE INVESTMENT IN EGYPT
 
 
Egypt and China's relations have a very deep history. Under Nasser’s government, Egypt
became the first Arab and African country to recognise the People's Republic of China in
1956 later on china provided financial Aid during the Suez Canal to tackle the Tripartite
Aggression of Great Britain, France, and Israel.
Despite the political anarchy in Egypt and the changes in political leadership in Egypt over
50 years, the relationship with China has remained of significant importance as in the 2012
election the newly elected President Morsi visited China without any delay
From 2017 to 2022 investment of china in Egypt has been increased to 317%, during the
same era US investment has been decreased by 31%
According to a recent Washington Institute poll, the majority of Egyptians think that the
relationship of Egypt with China is more important than that with the US
 
 

CONCLUSION
China’s investment in Africa in infrastructure projects has been a game changer in Africa
creating jobs and economic growth. China’s return to Africa has been phenomenal. However,
it is worthy to pointing out that China’s intensified engagement with Africa is neither unique
nor isolated. Moreover, China’s reviving interest offers Africa opportunities as well as
challenges, because together with investment capital and development assistance, China also
brings in Chinese competition and Chinese immigrants. But more importantly, China brings
back the West’s attention to the continent as well as their competitions for influence. As a
result, Africa may gain more leverage from China’s presence. These investments have
strengthened African country’s economies but some have criticized China that its real focus
will be on natural resources such as the Central African Republic, Libya, Algeria Egypt,
Congo which are rich diamond and gold etc.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REFERENCES
1. L. (n.d.). China in Ethiopia. Https://Howafrica.Africa/. https://howafrica.africa/general/list-
of-all-chinese-projects-in-kenya/
2. [Wendoverproduction]. (2019, December 12). History of China and African Relations [Video].
Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=china+and+africa+relationship
3. https://borgenproject.org/chinas-foreign-investment-in-africa/
4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-African_relations