Leaders and officials from 50 African nations are meeting in Beijing today for the latest Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, a summit held every three years since 2000. Ahead of the forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with more than a dozen leaders of African countries, announcing upgraded bilateral partnerships. (Washington Post)
Our Take
Over the past decade or so, Africa as a region has become the highest-profile illustration of China’s emergence as a leader in global development, and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has been the showcase event to shine the spotlight on Beijing’s new role on the continent.
Through its Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, China has invested hundreds of billions of dollars across Africa, mostly for infrastructure projects that have transformed the landscape in a number of countries. Beijing has also extended massive concessional loans to African countries in desperate need of development assistance, while also making its deals more attractive than the ones offered by Western countries by not attaching political conditions. As a result, by 2016, China was directing more money in new loans to Africa than the World Bank.