China’s lending to Africa has remained significant in 2019, but its
nature is changing. Chinese financiers have committed US$ 153 billion to
African public sector borrowers between 2000 and 2019.a At least 80 percent
of these loans financed economic and social infrastructure projects:
mainly transport, power, telecoms, and water. In 2019, Chinese financiers
committed US$ 7 billion to African borrowers, down 30 percent from US$
9.9 billion in 2018. We expect this dip to continue through 2020, reflecting
the impact of the pandemic and associated economic dislocation. Yet we
do not predict a sustained drop in Chinese lending to Africa. Like other
lenders, Chinese banks are interested in the profits available in emerging
and frontier markets.
