China pushes smaller, smarter loans to Africa to shield from risks
infrastructure projects in Africa may be over, analysts say, with Beijing seeking to shield itself from risky, indebted partners on the continent as it grapples with a slowing economy at home.
Beijing for years dished out billions in loans for trains, roads and bridges in Africa that saddled participating governments with debts they often struggled to pay back.
But experts say it is now opting for smaller loans to fund more modest development projects.
«China has adjusted its lending strategy in Africa to take China's own domestic economic troubles and Africa's debt problems into account,» Lucas Engel, a data analyst studying Chinese development finance at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, said.
«This new prudence and risk aversion among Chinese lenders is intended to ensure that China can continue to engage with Africa in a more resilient and sustainable manner,» he told AFP.
«The large infrastructure loans China was known for in the past have become rarer.»
As African leaders gathered this week for Beijing's biggest summit since the pandemic, President Xi Jinping committed more than $50 billion in financing over the next three years.
More than half of that would be in credit, Xi said, while the rest would come from unspecified «various types of assistance» and $10 billion through encouraging Chinese firms to invest.
Xi gave no details on how those funds would be dished out.
— Loans redirected -
China has for years pumped vast sums of cash into African nations as it looks to shore up
