African agency in the Belt and Road Initiative: Kenya’s rail investment as China’s flagship BRI project in Africa

Wissenbach, Uwe

doi:10.4337/9781789906226.00017

Cited by 8 publications

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“…This came after Kenya's ascent into the "lower middleincome economy" category in 2014, which ended the country's access to concessional loans from the international financial institutions. Beijing's prominent role started with the China Exim Bank funding 90% of the US$3.6 billion for the 485-kilometre Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line (Munda 2019), which has been cast as a flagship project of both the BRI and Kenya's own "Vision 2030" development framework (Wissenbach 2020). The SGR construction was largely responsible for driving up Kenyan debt to China from US$756 million in 2014 to US$6.47 billion by 2019 (Olander 2020).…”

Section: Kenya: Piles Of Debt and A New "Lunatic Line"mentioning

confidence: 99%

China’s spatial fix and ‘debt diplomacy’ in Africa: constraining belt or road to economic transformation?

Carmody

Taylor

Zajontz

2021

Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des étud

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Mounting overaccumulation of capital and material has compelled the Chinese government to seek solutions overseas. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with its transregional infrastructure projects connecting Eurasia and Africa, is the hallmark venture in this effort. Chinese road, railway, port and energy projects, implemented under the BRI banner, have become widespread in Africa. This article traces drivers of the BRI in the post-reform evolution of the Chinese economy and conceptualises the BRI as a multi-vector "spatial fix" aimed at addressing chronic overaccumulation. Focusing on Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia, the paper documents how loan financing related to BRI projects reveals contradictions that arise from China's spatial fix in Africa. Concerns about a looming debt crisis on the continent and the questionable economic sustainability of some BRI projects have become more pressing amidst the COVID-19-induced economic contraction. Hopes for Africa's economic transformation based on increasing connectivity under the BRI are unlikely to materialise. RÉSUMÉ La suraccumulation croissante de capitaux et de matérial a contraint le gouvernement chinois à chercher des solutions à l'étranger. L'initiative « la Ceinture et la Route » (BRI), avec ses projets d'infrastructures transrégionales connectant l'Eurasie et l'Afrique, est la marque de fabrique de cette stratégie. Les projets routiers, ferroviaires, portuaires et énergétiques chinois, mis en oeuvre dans le cadre de la BRI, se sont répandus en Afrique. Cet article retrace les moteurs de la BRI dans l'évolution post-réforme de l'économie chinoise et conceptualise la BRI comme un « correctif spatial » multi-vecteur visant à remédier à la suraccumulation chronique. En se concentrant sur le Kenya, Djibouti et l'Éthiopie, l'article documente comment le financement des prêts liés aux projets de la BRI révèle les contradictions qui émergent du « correctif spatial » de la Chine en Afrique. Les inquiétudes concernant une crise de la dette imminente sur le continent et la viabilité économique douteuse de certains projets de la BRI sont devenues plus pressantes dans le contexte de la contraction économique entraînée par la COVID-19. Il est peu probable que les espoirs de transformation économique de l'Afrique basés sur une connectivité accrue dans le cadre de la BRI se matérialisent.

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Section: Kenya: Piles Of Debt and A New "Lunatic Line"mentioning

confidence: 99%

China’s spatial fix and ‘debt diplomacy’ in Africa: constraining belt or road to economic transformation?

Carmody

Taylor

Zajontz

2021

Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des étud

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“…This kind of outcome from the BRI is often attributed to the responsive nature of China-Africa relations. However, such examples also point to the agency exercised by African actors to instrumentalize the BRI to their benefit -a point that I will return to below Jian 2018;Wissenbach 2020). Geographically speaking, North and East Africa have by far been the central focus of the maritime and overland 'Silk Roads' of the BRI.…”

Section: Extending the Silk Roads 'Into Africa'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Perspectives on China's Belt and Road Initiative

2021

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Iran as a 'Civilizational Crossroads' in the Belt and Road Geography Mohammadbagher Forough 13 Exploring the Political, Economic, and Social Implications of the Digital Silk Road into East Africa The Case of Ethiopia Sanne van der Lugt ContributorsThis book would not have been possible without the assistance and continuous efforts of numerous people. The LeidenAsiaCentre's manager, Lily Sprangers, has worked tirelessly to coordinate our editorial work, aided by our project manager, Jonas Lammertink, and they have the heartfelt gratitude of our entire team of researchers. Nicholas Olczak has done an excellent job copy-editing this book, with much of the work taking place at the eleventh hour, and we are deeply grateful for his assistance. Then there are our contributors, who have engaged in highly productive and collegial debate throughout the span of the project, and it has been a pleasure seeing them work together and create these insightful studies. Work on this project was made ever more difficult as the Coronavirus crisis unfolded, and I am very thankful to everyone involved for staying committed to the project during such unprecedented and difficult times. Substantial parts of our debates about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and about the relevance of actors and agency, took place outside of Leiden University. We would like to thank the EU Centre in Singapore, especially its director, Yeo Lay Hwee, for hosting a fruitful conference on BRI-related developments in January 2020. Our discussions at Nanyang Technological University very much shaped our thinking on this complex topic and now inform many aspects of this book.Finally, our gratitude goes to our editors at Amsterdam University Press for all their help and assistance along the way, especially to Saskia Gieling, who has been instrumental in bringing this book to press.The LeidenAsiaCentre is an academic institution. Its research is funded independently and is not subject to partisan influence.

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“…Similar to the way BRI projects have been carried out in other parts of the world (Chansok, 2019;Vakulchuk and Overland, 2019;Wissenbach, 2020), local communities in Myanmar remain poorly informed about the specifics of high-level agreements. However, local communities are at the greatest risk from the potential negative externalities of the planned BRI projects.…”

Section: Effects On Local Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharing the Spoils: Winners and Losers in the Belt and Road Initiative in Myanmar

Mark¹,

Øverland

Vakulchuk

2020

Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs

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This article studies the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on economic actors in Myanmar. It hypothesizes that the BRI has strong transformative potential, because Chinese projects are likely to transform Myanmar’s economy on different scales and influence the allocation of economic benefits and losses for different actors. The study identifies economic actors in Myanmar who are likely to be most affected by BRI projects. It also discusses how BRI-related investments could affect the country’s complex conflict dynamics. The article concludes with policy recommendations for decision makers in Myanmar, China, and the international community for mitigating the BRI’s possible negative impacts. The analysis draws on secondary sources and primary data collection in the form of interviews with key actors in Hsipaw, Lashio, and Yangon, involved with and informed about the BRI in Myanmar at the local, regional, and national levels.

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African agency in the Belt and Road Initiative: Kenya’s rail investment as China’s flagship BRI project in Africa

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

China’s spatial fix and ‘debt diplomacy’ in Africa: constraining belt or road to economic transformation?

China’s spatial fix and ‘debt diplomacy’ in Africa: constraining belt or road to economic transformation?

Global Perspectives on China's Belt and Road Initiative

Sharing the Spoils: Winners and Losers in the Belt and Road Initiative in Myanmar

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