Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed, Thursday, from Kenya, that Beijing is not trapping Africa into a debt trap. This was during an African tour during which he visited several infrastructure projects financed by his country.
in Mombasa; As China is financing the construction of a new terminal in the heart of the largest port in East Africa, Wang stressed that the loans associated with these projects represent a “mutual benefit”, rejecting the idea that his country is setting a trap for African countries.
“It’s a story made up by those who don’t want to see the development of Africa,” he told reporters.
He added, “If there is a trap, it is the trap of poverty and backwardness.”
Wang’s tour comes shortly after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited the continent in November, which was dedicated to countering China’s growing influence in Africa.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Ned Price was keen to highlight the “partnerships” that his country offers to African countries “on the basis of mutual opportunities and mutual respect”, in contrast, as he said, to Chinese projects.
“We are not asking our partners to choose between the United States and other countries, including the People’s Republic of China,” Price told reporters. We do not want to force them to choose; We want to give them options.”
Beijing is the continent’s first trading partner, with direct exchanges worth more than $200 billion in 2019, according to official Chinese figures.
Yet China has long been accused of using its creditor status to extract diplomatic and trade concessions, raising concerns about the ability of many African countries to repay agreed debts.
“Deepening Relationships”
China has become Kenya’s second creditor after the World Bank and has financed expensive infrastructure projects in a country where the level of debt has risen sharply in recent years.
In Mombasa, building a new terminal in the harbor represents a $353 million investment.
Beijing also funded the most expensive infrastructure project since Kenya’s independence, a $5 billion rail line.
While visiting Kenya in January 2020, Wang described this line as a “model” of China’s “Road Belt” initiative, on the basis of which Beijing funds infrastructure projects.
(AFP)
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