Chinese PM Li Keqiang with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. The two leaders have signed a deal to build a railway line ( 90% paid by China) that connects Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi & S. Sudan. (Reuters)
By Matt Schiavenza
When China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang announced a deal with Kenya to establish a new railroad, whose first stage will link the port city of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, he framed the arrangement in terms familiar to Sino-African relations:
“All China’s support for Africa will come with no political strings attached,” Li said. “We will not interfere with Africa’s internal affairs or ask something impossible of Africa.”
Li’s words neatly encapsulate China’s strategy in Africa, a continent with which the Asian country enjoys over $200 billion annually in trade. And the Kenya train investment is little different: Through China’s Exim bank, the country will loan Kenya $3.8 billion, 90 percent of the overall price tag, to finance the project, which is expected to take three and a half years. Eventually, the railroad will include stops in South Sudan, Rwanda and Uganda, linking major cities in arguably Africa’s most integrated region.
Read more.
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Related:
China to build new East Africa railway line (BBC)
China, Kenya sign co-financing deal on East African railway (People Daily)
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