TY  - BOOK
PY  - 2022
CY  - München, Germany
PB  - GRIN Verlag
SN  - 9783346739032
TI  - Is China Africa's new Colonial Power?
UR  - https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/1282195
N2  - This paper is going to focus on the question, whether the infrastructural developments in Africa through China and especially the loans given in this context, deliberately force the recipient countries into a state of dependency as part of a new form of colonialism conducted by China.    After the withdrawal of colonial powers from Africa in the 1960s and the following regain of independency on the continent, former colonial countries were left with a completely dysfunctional infrastructure. For decades, these countries have struggled with development simply because they lack the financial resources necessary for the establishment of a sustainable economy. In 2013, newly promoted Chinese president Xi Jinping announced a new globe spanning project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The aim of this initiative is to support the infrastructural advancement of developing countries along a global economic network. Africa was to become an essential pivot for the emerging new trade routes, and in this context, African countries and China have negotiated agreements whereby China would provide loans for infrastructure development projects, which would then be constructed by Chinese corporations. An opportunity for the entire continent to close its development gap. However, Western countries were quick to voice criticism regarding the entire operation, accusing China of attempting to push countries into a debt trap by offering strict and unusual loan conditions, in order to subsequently demand the built infrastructure as a collateral in case of default. 
KW  - China, Debt Trap, Colonialism, Geopolitics, Africa, Development
LA  - English
ER  -