Special report | The future

Countering China in Africa

The West must try harder to offer African countries alternatives to China

A Kenyan worker puts gravel at the construction site of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) during the Presidential Inspection of the SGR Nairobi-Naivasha Phase 2A project in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 23, 2018. - The SGR phase 2A project is an 120km extensiton of the Monbasa-Nairobi SGR project (Phase 1) with the longest railway bridge in the country, 5.8km Super Major Bridge, constructed across Nairobi National Park. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP) (Photo credit should read YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

Africans live globalised lives. Those who travel to work on Chinese-built roads may do so in Japanese minibuses emblazoned with images of players from European football leagues, pinging messages on American social-media platforms. They worry about rising prices, a global pandemic gumming up supply chains and a Russian dictator’s decision to invade Ukraine.

This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline “Countering China in Africa”

China’s slowdown

From the May 28th 2022 edition

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