Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Senior Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.
Kicking off the latest iteration of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday pledged $60 billion for various projects in Africa, a sum that included $20 billion in credit lines along with $15 billion in “grants, interest-free loans and concessional loans,” according to The Associated Press.
The announcement wasn’t especially remarkable, given that China pledged the same amount during the last summit, in 2015. Yet this year’s forum coincided with an intensifying debate over the risks of Chinese debt in Africa—a debate that, judging by officials’ statements, has rankled the Chinese leadership.