Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a $60 billion investment in Africa intended for “development” Friday. Trade between Africa and China was worth $220 billion in 2014.
Jinping announced the investment agreement with his African counterparts at the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in South Africa. Among the 10 deals Jinping signed, $6.5 billion is going directly to dealings between China and South Africa. According to China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, China’s new approach to Africa has to do with “making sure that this world will be fairer, more secure and more inclusive.”
The announcement comes at a time of great political instability in Africa. The Central African Republic and The Democratic Republic of the Congo are in a seemingly constant state of war, while other countries like Libya face mounting security threats from Islamic terror groups. According to French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Libya increasingly has the potential of becoming an ISIS stronghold. The defense minister warned that if efforts at combatting ISIS in Syria and Iraq prove to be successful, Libya, due to its political instability and proximity to Europe, seems like a prime nesting ground for ISIS to launch attacks on Europe. Following the Paris attacks, French fighter planes flew intelligence gathering missions Nov. 21 and 22 over Libya, including in areas under ISIS control, According to French cable news channel FRANCE 24.
Then, Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and a leading oil producer has its own troubles with Islamic extremism. In January, Boko Haram militants slaughtered 2,000 people in the village of Baga. On Saturday, the Nigerian military declared they had captured the lead cameraman for the terror group’s propaganda videos. In March, the leader of ISIS accepted a loyalty pledge from Boko Haram to lead the terror group’s African terror campaign.
The investment into Africa is happening at a time right when Chinese economic growth is faltering compared to previous years. In 2014, China’s GDP growth was only 7.4% rather than the double-digit growth which the country had experienced before the 2008 financial crisis. Not only is China’s growth slowing but precisely because of China’s woes, African economies are also seeing a significant slowdown. According to the IMF, Sub-Saharan African economies will grow 3.8% in 2015 which is a downward revision of projected growth numbers in October which expected 4.4% growth. The leading exports from the African continent to China consist of various commodities products including various mineral ores, energy products and agricultural products.
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