Chinese activities in the East Coast of Africa

Chinese Activities:

Eritrea

China has been developing relations with Eritrea, a country located in the Horn of Africa. China Shanghai corporation for foreign economic and technological cooperation is working with the Eritrean government to build a 134km two-lane highway connecting Adi-Guadad and Aqurdat in Gash-Barka region passing through the towns of Himbrti, Habela, Che’atat. The first phase of the project which is about 30 km long began on 11 November 2019. Eritrea as part of BRI has received training in number of fields such as finance, health, engineering, agriculture, fishing etc. Following close cooperation between Asmara and Beijing, the dragon has become the largest trading partner of the African nation.

Djibouti

Djibouti lies at the far end of the Horn of Africa and developed a fruitful relationship with China. It has been at the center of tiny African nation’s economic transformation. China, as part of its Silk Road strategy has funded 14 mega infrastructure projects valued at $14.4 billion. One of the infrastructure projects includes building a railway line to transport natural gas from Ethiopia to Djibouti which will be exported to China. Chinese Merchants Group has inked a $350 million deal with Great Horn Investment Holding, through which Djibouti’s port will be transfigured into an international business hub with a free trade zone.  

Kenya

China is building the standard gauge railway project (SGR) between the largest port city of East Africa, Mombasa and the capital, Nairobi. Phase one of the project began in December 2014 and it became operational in 2017 at the cost of $3.8 billion. The length of the railway project is about 480 km, and it has reduced the travel time for passengers to about 4 hours from a hectic 10-hour journey and freight trains can travel in about 8 hours. The second phase of the project began in October 2019 meant to connect Nairobi with Naivasha and the expense would be about $1.5 billion.        

Tanzania

This year two Chinese firms, namely China civil engineering construction cooperation and China railway construction limited have got a contract worth $1.32 billion in Tanzania to build a 341 km railway connecting port city of Mwanza with Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam via town of Isaka. This project is part of a bigger railway network of about 2561 km meant to connect Dar es Salaam with the hinterlands of the east African country. Beijing through its civil engineering construction cooperation is also building a road at Ubongo junction connecting Samu Nujoma, Mandela and Morogoro roads in Dar es Salaam.

Madagascar

China has set its foot in Madagascar, a small island nation separated from African mainland by 400 km. Beijing has constructed a huge number of infrastructure projects such as place of sports and culture in Antananarivo, international conference center and five-star hotels in Ivato. Constructed route nationale 9 connecting the town of Toilara and Mandabe and route nationale 2 which links the capital, Antananarivo with Toamasina, a city on the eastern coast. Madagascar is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and has received large amounts of investments, for instance Chinese foreign direct investment was about $803 million in 2018.

Mozambique

Beijing has invested extensively in infrastructure for example roads, bridges, ports, and railway facilities have been built by China. For instance, the Maputo Bay bridge is the largest suspension bridge found in Africa. It connects Maputo on the northern bank with the suburb Katembe which is located on the southern bank. Natural gas facilities are being built in Area 1 and 4 to take advantage of natural gas found in Rovuma basin. Maputo has been blessed by Beijing’s capital as it has invested about $8 billion and more than 100 Chinese firms are involved in fields such as agriculture, energy, mining, tourism, telecommunications.

Chinese Strategy:

Beijing has enhanced its economic footprint in the east coast of Africa, and it is at the forefront of the continent’s transformation. On one hand, this allows Chinese firms to enter new markets, while on the other, such projects permits the dragon to ameliorate its soft power and project itself as a saviour of Africa.

Africa is part of China’s grand strategy which is to become a great power in world affairs. At the center of China’s Africa engagement is economic linkage through investments and infrastructure projects, which will not only enable East Africa to become a more prosperous region if the projects materialize, but also allow China to dominate the western Indian ocean as key ports are being built by Chinese firms.  

Beijing consensus pushes for economic development, but it does not come with conditionalities on political reform, and this entitles China to work with leaders who are not accountable to their people. Just like the US’ cold war engagement was dominated by military-to-military ties, the Chinese strategy today is of economic linkages. The development card is being employed to further strategic goals across the world as exemplified by the Hambantota project. For example, Hambantota port was a development project which fell into Beijing’s hands after the Sri Lankan government failed to repay the loan and had to lease the island for 99 years.    

How does Africa View China?

Most of the African countries view Beijing as a trustworthy ally, one who is enabling them to get out of poverty and prosper just like China has done in the past four decades. China is different from other powers as it has no colonial history in the continent, and has been a victim of colonization. Moreover, Beijing’s engagement does not come with strings attached since it does not intend to interfere in domestic politics, unlike western countries.

The three reasons as to why China is preferred by Africa are: firstly, unconditional soft loans empower them to have access to much-needed capital. Secondly, quick delivery of goods and services is helpful as Chinese firms have improved transportation, education, health, telecommunication services which is essential in raising the living standard. Thirdly, the alternative development model of China has allowed authoritarian leaders to lift millions of people out of poverty while continuing their grip on power.

Final Standpoint:

No one can deny that China is responsible for the transformation of the African continent. Beijing has pumped massive amounts of money through investments as well as infrastructure projects whose impact will be seen decades from now. The East coast of Africa is important for trade in the Indian ocean, and the region is expanding its linkage in the world economy with China’s engagement at the forefront.

Western scholars argue that Beijing’s footprint in Africa is a new form of colonialism wherein China is exploiting the region for its strategic gains. On the other hand, Africans see China as a saviour who is enabling the poor region to prosper. China’s strategy with regards to the region is to expand soft power and its links with the world. Only the Chinese government knows the reason behind these projects, whether there is a larger hidden strategy or if it is a genuine partner of Africa. Finally, it remains to be seen whether Chinese money helps the region prosper or whether the region remains poor.

End Notes

1) https://kenan.ethics.duke.edu/eastern-allies-the-influence-of-china-on-east-africa-april/

2) http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-03/25/c_137922762.htm

3) https://thediplomat.com/2020/01/through-eritrea-china-quietly-makes-inroads-near-the-red-sea/

4) http://www.sfeco.net.cn/English/

5) https://shabait.com/2019/11/13/construction-of-dual-lane-highway-commences/

6) https://thediplomat.com/2021/01/china-consolidates-its-commercial-foothold-in-djibouti/

7) https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3525878/Tiny-Djibouti-thinks-big-China-backed-infrastructure-splurge.html

8) https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3116407/china-merchants-signs-us350-million-deal-shekou-style-revamp

9) http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-01/10/c_138694414.htm

10) https://moguldom.com/97963/china-financing-most-of-djiboutis-14-4b-in-planned-infrastructure-projects/

11) https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/mombasa-nairobi-standard-gauge-railway-project/

12) https://www.reuters.com/article/tanzania-railway-idCNL8N2JI3Q2

13) https://www.mukonagroup.com/portfolio/ubongo-interchange-dar-es-salaam/

14) http://www.charhar.org.cn/newsinfo.aspx?newsid=15100

15) https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1206694.shtml

16) https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2019/10/03/what-china-is-really-up-to-in-africa/

17) https://africacenter.org/spotlight/grand-strategy-and-chinas-soft-power-push-in-africa/

18) https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/marshall-plan-1#:~:text=The%20Marshall%20Plan%2C%20also%20known,devastation%20of%20World%20War%20II.&text=In%20addition%20to%20economic%20redevelopment,communism%20on%20the%20European%20continent.

19) https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2019/1/6/why-africa-loves-china

Pic courtesy-IDSA GIS Lab

(The views expressed are those of the author only.)