China's implementation of numerous projects on the African continent over the past decade has enabled it to displace Western countries in the region, the South China Morning Post newspaper has revealed.
"By 2013, when Xi Jinping became China’s president, Western firms were running 37% of African infrastructure projects versus 12% for Chinese companies, according to a new report by the Hinrich Foundation, an Asia-based philanthropic organization" the daily said.
Since, Beijing has managed to turn the tide. In 2022, Chinese companies accounted for 31% of African infrastructure contracts worth $50 million or more, compared with 12% for Western companies, the Chinese publication said, citing a study on Africa's growing influence in global trade and geopolitics by Keith Rockwell, a senior research fellow and former director of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Chinese companies have built multibillion-dollar projects across the African continent, including ports, railroads, highways, bridges, and hydroelectric dams, all fueled by Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road.
"This is a big change from 1990, when US and European companies won 85% of African construction contracts," according to the author of the study.
Trillion Dollar Investments
In the research paper, Rockwell points out that since 2013, Beijing has financed billions of dollars worth of megaprojects under the BRI strategy, such as railways in Kenya and Ethiopia and ports in Djibouti and Nigeria.
The Green Finance and Development Center at Shanghai's Fudan University estimates that over ten years, more than $1 trillion has been committed globally through the Chinese initiative.
According to Keith Rockwell, China has become Africa's largest trading partner, accounting for $250 billion in trade by 2021, compared to $62 billion in trade between the US and African countries.
"With such close trade and business relations, it’s no surprise that China is winning the lion’s share of infrastructure project contracts," said the former WTO director.