Leaving or arriving at the Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Airport, you will come across an archway that is erect by the Chinese to symbolize the friendship between Kenya and China. The archway is not the most aesthetically pleasing thing in the world. In fact, it is falling apart. In Africa, the general feeling about things made in China is poor quality. I wonder why?
After my trip to East Africa, I was really surprised by China’s presence here. Driving through very rural parts of northern Ethiopia, we saw large trucks with “XXXXX Construction Company” in Chinese painted on the side and not too far away, Chinese engineers working on the road. We would often see groups of Chinese workers (very obviously not on vacation) transit in and out of airports. I even came across a large paint store named Jiangsu (a Southern province near Shanghai) and very authentic Chongqing hotpot restaurant which had a sign that was all in Chinese expect for the words “Chinese Restaurant”. I chatted with a man who was working as a mobile communications salesman in Rwanda. He was waiting for his flight back to China in the Nairobi airport. He was surprised I was on holidays in Africa and asked “what is there to see here?”
China actually invests a lot in Africa. The China-Africa Development Fund has invested nearly US$540 million to support 27 projects in Africa, which will likely lead to investment of about US$3.6 billion in the continent by Chinese companies, China's Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.
Why is China so invested in Africa? There are two major reasons. First, Africa has a lot of natural resources. From copper to diamonds, China not only wants them, but she wants first dibs on them. China is helping Africa build roads and other infrastructures to excavate faster and better transport these resources. A third of Chinese oil is now imported from Africa.
Reason number 2, Africa is a huge market for cheap Chinese goods. In recent years, Chinese goods have been flooding the African markets. Even African souvenir t-shirts came from China which made me wonder if the zebra-head chopsticks I bought were also made in China…
Here is a good blog for you can read more on China-Africa relations: China-African the Real Story
After my trip to East Africa, I was really surprised by China’s presence here. Driving through very rural parts of northern Ethiopia, we saw large trucks with “XXXXX Construction Company” in Chinese painted on the side and not too far away, Chinese engineers working on the road. We would often see groups of Chinese workers (very obviously not on vacation) transit in and out of airports. I even came across a large paint store named Jiangsu (a Southern province near Shanghai) and very authentic Chongqing hotpot restaurant which had a sign that was all in Chinese expect for the words “Chinese Restaurant”. I chatted with a man who was working as a mobile communications salesman in Rwanda. He was waiting for his flight back to China in the Nairobi airport. He was surprised I was on holidays in Africa and asked “what is there to see here?”
China actually invests a lot in Africa. The China-Africa Development Fund has invested nearly US$540 million to support 27 projects in Africa, which will likely lead to investment of about US$3.6 billion in the continent by Chinese companies, China's Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.
Why is China so invested in Africa? There are two major reasons. First, Africa has a lot of natural resources. From copper to diamonds, China not only wants them, but she wants first dibs on them. China is helping Africa build roads and other infrastructures to excavate faster and better transport these resources. A third of Chinese oil is now imported from Africa.
Reason number 2, Africa is a huge market for cheap Chinese goods. In recent years, Chinese goods have been flooding the African markets. Even African souvenir t-shirts came from China which made me wonder if the zebra-head chopsticks I bought were also made in China…
Here is a good blog for you can read more on China-Africa relations: China-African the Real Story
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