Africa-China Investment Partnership for Development: The Downside, the Promises and a Roadmap for the Future

Asian Journal of WTO & International Health Law and Policy, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 285-318, March 2020

34 Pages Posted: 22 Apr 2020

See all articles by Collins Ajibo

Collins Ajibo

University of Manchester - School of Law

Miriam Anozie

University of Nigeria - Faculty of Law

Timothy O. Umahi

University of Nigeria - Faculty of Law

Samuel I. Nwatu

University of Nigeria - Faculty of Law

Date Written: March 27, 2020

Abstract

The emergence of China as a major capital exporting country, bolstered by its policy of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), has resulted in an unprecedented influx of Chinese investment, loan financing and infrastructure development ever recorded by a single investor in Africa. The Chinese investment straddles virtually all sectors, ranging from transport infrastructure, telecommunications, real state, manufacturing, financial services and natural resources extraction. The presence of China in Africa has been hailed as a positive catalyst to revamp a continent dogged by stagnation, underdevelopment and infrastructural deficits. On the other hand, critics argue that China’s presence reflects neo-colonialism, motivated mainly by the exportation of its influence and to ensure security in its quest for natural resources. Against this backdrop, African countries need to leverage the situation by having a blueprint of targeted objectives to ensure a win-win situation, namely: (1) a clear roadmap of their expectations and means to realize them; (2) optimization of the partnership for sustainable development; (3) insistence on human rights protection substantively and procedurally; and (4) a means of performance measurement requiring monitoring, data collection and analysis to ensure the objectives sought are being realized; otherwise, a re-calibration of the partnership should be pursued.

Keywords: development, partnership, Africa, China, future roadmap

Suggested Citation

Ajibo, Collins and Anozie, Miriam and Umahi, Timothy O. and Nwatu, Samuel I., Africa-China Investment Partnership for Development: The Downside, the Promises and a Roadmap for the Future (March 27, 2020). Asian Journal of WTO & International Health Law and Policy, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 285-318, March 2020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3563429

Collins Ajibo (Contact Author)

University of Manchester - School of Law ( email )

Oxford Road
Manchester, N/A M13 9PL
United Kingdom

Miriam Anozie

University of Nigeria - Faculty of Law

Enugu Campus
Enugu Campus
Enugu, Enugu State 400001
Nigeria

Timothy O. Umahi

University of Nigeria - Faculty of Law

Enugu Campus
Enugu Campus
Enugu, Enugu State 400001
Nigeria

Samuel I. Nwatu

University of Nigeria - Faculty of Law

Enugu Campus
Enugu Campus
Enugu, Enugu State 400001
Nigeria

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
105
Abstract Views
427
Rank
490,453
PlumX Metrics