Afropolitan Central

From alarming headlines about land grabs to debt traps all amidst bold claims of an ongoing bid to neo-colonise Africa, we have all been witness to China’s increasing presence and investment in various African countries. But what are the facts vs overly blown out myths? Should we be more alarmed than we already are? To help us navigate this subject, we are joined by Bénédicte, a China-Africa scholar, whose in-depth knowledge on China’s political, economic and cultural history provides the much needed context to examine this burgeoning relationship. We touch on these and more in our conversation: How has China’s history shaped its current “business only strategy” with the African continent? Is the devil we know (the West) better than the new, potential devil we’re just getting to know (China)? How and why do African countries continuously strike bad deals even in areas like tourism where we have a bargaining chip? Debt traps vs poorly researched deals, which is which? Are we selectively outraged, after all