Charter Cities Podcast

The Real Story of China in Africa with Deborah Brautigam

May 23, 2022

Deborah Brautigam, a Sinologist-Africanist Professor, shares her perspective on China's development model in Africa. Topics discussed include the role of aid as a geopolitical instrument, differences between China and the West in infrastructure funding, sustainability and sovereignty, decline in Chinese infrastructure lending, and China's focus post-pandemic.

01:13:58

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Deborah Brautigam

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Quick takeaways

The Chinese and Western aid models in Africa have different focuses, with China emphasizing infrastructure while the West focuses on sectors like health and education.

Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa have missed the opportunity to capitalize on land ownership as part of loan repayment, despite the demand for urban infrastructure and related services.

Combining the strengths of both the Chinese and Western aid models can lead to more effective and sustainable infrastructure development in Africa, but ongoing scrutiny and improvement are necessary.

Deep dives

Chinese aid and infrastructure building in Africa

Chinese aid and infrastructure building in Africa have been hot topics in recent years. However, this focus on China's involvement in Africa dates back to the early 1980s. The book 'The Dragon's Gift' by Deborah Browde outlines how China's aid program in Africa differed from that of the West. While the Chinese started out similarly in different countries, the outcomes of their projects varied because of the actions taken by African governments. This finding highlights the importance of host governments in determining project success. The West shifted its aid focus toward sectors like health and education, while China emphasized infrastructure and industrialization. These different approaches can be attributed to geopolitical factors and domestic pressure in both China and Western countries. However, recent developments have seen Chinese and Western aid models becoming more complementary. The World Bank, for example, contracts Chinese firms for infrastructure projects, ensuring sustainability and following best practices. This division of labor allows China's efficiency in building projects quickly and cheaply to be combined with Western aid agencies' expertise in advisory services and governance.

The Impacts of the SGR on Kenya's Transportation System

01:34

The Importance of Management Talent in NGOs and Health Organizations

01:00

The Decline in Chinese Infrastructure Spending: Impact of President Xi's Anti-Corruption Campaign

01:13

Recommended Books on Chinese Power in Southeast Asia

01:17

Introduction

3min

Chinese Aid in West Africa

25min

Lessons from the Tanzan Railway: Sustainability, Training, and Challenges

8min

Chinese Involvement in African Rail Projects

21min

Debt Trap Diplomacy and the Case of Hanban Toda in Sri Lanka

11min

Differences in Public Actions and Private Conversations on China-Related Issues

2min

Book Recommendations and Insights on Chinese Projects in Southeast Asia

3min

China’s presence in Africa is widely speculated upon (and wildly misunderstood). Joining us today to speak to the truth of the matter is Sinologist-Africanist Professor of International Development at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Deborah Brautigam. Deborah is also the Director of the China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) and author of Will Africa Feed China? and, more famously, The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa. In this episode, she shares her nuanced perspective on the Chinese development model and aid program in Africa and how the rise of NGOs has shifted the nature of aid, in general. We discuss the role of aid as a geopolitical instrument and the differences in the ways China and the West approach the funding of infrastructure in Africa. We learn about Chinese loans versus commoditized loans, the lessons China has learned through its various endeavors, and the lessons Deborah suspects it is yet to learn. Tune in to hear more about the balance of ensuring sustainability and respecting sovereignty, what’s causing the decline in Chinese infrastructure lending, and where China’s focus has turned since the pandemic.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Deborah Brautigam’s interest in the Chinese development model and aid program in Africa.

• The argument of her first book, Will Africa Feed China?

• The problems Western aid projects have faced.

• How the rise of NGOs has shifted the nature of aid.

• The accountability structure of China in Africa.

• Aid as a geopolitical instrument.

• The two primary sources of finance for infrastructure in Africa: China and the bond markets.

• The Japanese Goa formula and its impact on Chinese aid practices today.

• How Chinese commodity-backed aid differs from that of Western entities.

• Zambia’s privatization of their copper mines.

• Why commoditized loans have a bad reputation.

• The advantage Chinese loans have over commoditized loans.

• Competitive bidding and external supervision of Chinese infrastructure in Angola.

• China’s reasons for supporting the developing world in the 60s and 70s: to support socialism and wrest diplomatic recognition away from Taipei and towards Beijing.

• The lessons China took from undertaking the Tanzam railway project in the 70s.

• Tazara Syndrome: the pride of funding projects nobody else wants to fund.

• The art of project appraisal and how to minimize risk in demand projections.

• China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

• The balance between ensuring the sustainability of aid projects and respecting sovereignty.

• How political interests undermine the ability of state-owned enterprises to be sustainable.

• The specialization and division of labor between China and the West.

• The Western profit model of new urban agglomerations.

• The misguided New Yorker report on debt-trap diplomacy in Sri Lanka.

• Reasons for the recent decline in Chinese infrastructure spending.

• China’s plans to focus on local infrastructure.

• Various views on China's motives amongst policymakers.