The China Mall emblazoned with a Great Wall of China signage in Kitwe, Zambia.
Photographer: Zinyange Auntony/Bloomberg
Xi Wants Bigger Returns, Fewer Headaches From African Debt Deals
After a decade of surging Chinese lending helped push African countries toward default, Beijing has a new proposal: commercial loans that could generate better returns for China
When Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes African leaders to Beijing this week, he’ll be holding a smaller checkbook and will have a clearer sense of what China wants in exchange: bigger returns and fewer headaches.
From Angola to Djibouti, for over a decade, China poured more than $120 billion of government-backed loans through its Belt and Road Initiative to build hydropower plants, roads and rail lines across the continent — as well as unparalleled influence. Those relationships helped Beijing lock down access to energy and minerals, while providing an outlet for its pent up industrial capacity.