China and Africa are ready to double down on their relationship
The writer argues that China-Africa relations have been nurtured on a heavy diet of credit lines in the last 20 years, but that seems to be changing. Picture: KAREN MOOLMANinisterial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation, held in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, on November 29and 30, marked yet another footprint in China and Africa’s trailblazing journey of co-operation, which continues to unfold.
While it is broadly similar to and, in many sections, resembles the 2018 action plan word for word, there are important differences between the 2018 and 2021 action plans that reflect China’s changing approach to its co-operation with Africa.Firstly, unlike the 2018 plan, the 2021 plan has no jaw-dropping financial aid packages. In the 2018 plan China announced a total of $60bn in financial commitments to Africa, to be disbursed between 2019 and 2021.
The 2021 plan has no specific offers on concessional loans, interest-free loans and grants. Even the $10bn credit lines will only be made available to African financial institutions, not to governments. This inevitably sparks speculation as to why China has decided to drastically cut the credit largesse this time around.
This has been largely attributed to Western countries using their financial power to hoard vaccines, leaving poor regions like Africa without access. Africa’s slow vaccination campaign will make it difficult for the continent to vaccinate the at least 60% of its population needed to reach herd immunity. China has promised to step in to avert the vaccine scarcity facing the continent.
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