Africa Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Aubrey Hruby cowrites for the Washington Post on the debate surrounding the Chinese economic impact in Africa:

This week’s China-Africa Summit in Johannesburg brings renewed focus to China’s role on the continent. President Xi Jinping is expected to pledge tens of billions of dollars in investment and aid to African countries — adding to the billions that China already pumps into the continent annually.

Much has been made of China’s strategic focus in Africa over the past decade. Discourse about its involvement on the continent usually revolves around a medley of economic data, conjecture, and competitive comparisons between China, Europe and the United States — treating Africa as the stage for a multinational business race that powerful nations will win or lose. Around all this, a number of China-in-Africa constructs have emerged, but as our research shows, most of these unravel upon closer analysis.

Read the full article here.

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