Shop selling Shenzhen’s Transsion’s Tecno phones that top African markets
[The World of Chinese]
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Geopolitics
US study of 1,000 Chinese loans refutes allegations of “debt-trap diplomacy” and seizure of African assets for unpaid loans
Between 2000-19, China cancelled US $3.4 billion in debt and restructured/refinanced 26 loans; holding 20% of Africa’s debt, China’s bilateral negotiations offer tailor-made solutions, with 20 countries receiving debt relief in 2020
South China Morning Post, 21.02.2021
See report:
China Africa Research Initiative, 06.2020
Economy
Benefitting from Australian-Chinese tensions, African countries see a jump in exports of wine and mineral supplies to China
In 2020, Australian bauxite (-22%), copper (-25%) and wine imports fell, while imports of Guinean bauxite (+70%), Congolese copper (+140%) and South African wine (+50% in Q4) soared, despite lack of trade deals to access Chinese market
Science and Technology
African digital market grows rapidly with Chinese state subsidies and private investment, could serve as digital yuan’s testing ground
China Mobile will double fiber optic infrastructure by 2023, Transsion cell phones (50% of sales) and Boomplay music app (75 million users) lead the market, and 44 countries received US $7.13 billion in ICT subsidies (2000-14)
See report:
University of Kentucky, 2020
