China’s Economic Statecraft in Africa

Africa is the top recipient of Chinese aid. In the early 2000s, China became Africa’s largest trading partner and a leading investor and provider of aid. China’s economic involvement in Africa has generated much commentary and anxiety, especially in the Western press. In fact, analysts have described China as a “rogue donor” that is propping up pariah states, gobbling up African land, resettling Chinese laborers across the continent, and undermining the efforts of Western aid agencies. Earlier this year, Le Monde reported that the African Union’s headquarters in Addis Ababa –a building built by the Chinese – was bugged and targeted by Chinese hackers, who were siphoning off data from the Chinese capital towards servers in Shanghai. Political leaders have also sounded the alarm with Hillary Clinton warning that Chinese expansionism could lead to a “new colonialism” in Africa. More recently, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, declared, in a meeting with the chair of the African Union, that Chinese investment on the continent had led to rising debt, adding “when coupled with political and fiscal pressure, this endangers Africa's natural resources and its long-term economic and political stability.”