China in Africa.

Byline: Meshach Ampwera K

Aside from a few scholars, analysts, think tanks and news reports who have asked specific questions like 'what are Chinese loans to African countries? Or what qualifies as a Chinese loan in an African country?', much of the debate on the Chinese loans to Africa has wrongly presented African countries as those that face or are likely to face a debt trap designed by China alone. Little to no specific attention has been given to the nature and purpose of Chinese loans to African countries. Instead, the proponents of the 'China-Africa Debt Trap' have openly warned African countries to be careful with Chinese loans and quickly shifted the gist of the debate to the two main arguments.

First, using the cases of Tajikistan in 2011 that reportedly handed over land on its disputed border with China to repay some of its debts and Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port Development Project, they have contended that China is or may use debt to gain economic and geopolitical leverage by trapping African countries in unsustainable loans. There is a certain level of clarity required that the complexity and pertinence of these cases cannot be compared with African countries.

Second, they have suggested that African countries need a sustainable borrowing strategy if they are to meet the Millennium Development Goals. As Anzetse notes, this contention undermines the decision-making power and agency of African governments, and brings back the memories of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Structural Adjustment Programs in African countries that reversed the development successes of the 1960s and 1970s, with millions sliding into poverty every year.

Although China is Africa's largest trading partner and has spent billions of dollars in trade and investments without political strings attached, it is still not among Africa's top creditors. According to the World Bank and the Jubilee Debt Campaign, a UK based financial pressure movement, between 2015 and 2017 Africa's external debt payments increased. Data indicates that external debt owed by African governments, 35% is to multilateral lenders, 32% to private lenders, about 20% to China, and 13% to other governments. Besides, interest rates are higher on private-sector loans, which account for 55% of interest payments, compared with China's 17%.

Similarly, Driscoll, author of 'The IMF and the World Bank: How do they differ?' notes that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank...