ABSTRACT: The economic partnership between China and the African continent spans loans, trade, and investment, and continues to steadily increase, leading to concerns about a potential imbalance that skews the long-term benefits of this partnership in favor of China. Both stakeholders ought to increase loan transparency to allow for global accountability on lending policies. Additionally, African nations establishing a unified regional policy to govern economic relations with China and taking action to improve their bargaining power, will ensure that the relationship between the continent and China is more mutually beneficial for both parties.
China in Africa: Facilitating a Mutually Beneficial Relationship – Ayomipo Kayode-Popoola
OVERVIEW, HISTORY AND DEFINITION OF THE ISSUE China has had a longstanding presence in Africa. Up until 1949, transnational trade, maritime exploration, and the mutual experience of colonialism marked Sino-African relations, the correspondence between China and Africa. The 1949 founding of the People’s Republic of China and the wave of independence of African nations created a new era between China and the continent, formally established at the 1955 Badung Conference and cemented through the creation of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2000. This new relationship was marked by diplomatic relations, increased trade, loans, and official development assistance (ODA).1
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Marlene Guillon and Jacky Mathonnat. “What Can We Learn on Chinese Aid Allocation Motivations from Available Data? A Sectorial Analysis of Chinese Aid to African Countries.” China Economic Review (2019), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2019.01.004
JOURNAL of the MARTIN INSTITUTE | INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
