The Changing Face of Africa-China Relations

Simon Cook will moderate the livestream panel: "The Changing Face of Africa-China Relations" at GTR Africa 2020 Virtual, on the second day (October 21, 2020) of this four day event.

As the largest single off-taker of African goods and products, China has invested more than the combined contributions of the entire DFI community, with huge infrastructure commitments and greater access to cheaper sources of funding. But at what cost? On one hand questions were being asked before the pandemic over the influence such large-scale investment brings - along with questions around the quality of Chinese goods and infrastructure - whilst on the other many see China’s soft power growing, the result of both having been seen to cope with the pandemic more efficiently than the West and from a debt perspective, with China’s long-term cheaper funding deemed better for sovereigns that short-dated (and more expensive) debt. This session will consider where the current situation leaves this relationship and what the future is likely to hold.