Chinese firms expand reach in Africa amid fears of ‘new colonialism’
Already dominant in the continent’s manufacturing and resource sectors, Chinese firms are pushing into new areas and leaving their western counterparts in the dust, a report says
Chinese firms operating in Africa are likely to see rapid growth in the coming decade as they expand their dominance in manufacturing and resources into new areas such as services and logistics, according to a report released in Beijing on Friday.
China’s involvement in the continent already dwarfs that of France, Britain and the US, and Chinese companies could amass combined revenues of US$440 billion in 2025, about twice those of Apple last year and more than double the US$180 billion they generated in 2015, according to the report by McKinsey & Company.
“Neither Western partners such as France, the UK and the US, nor major developing countries such as India and Brazil match China in the depth and breadth of involvement in Africa”, the report said.
“Make no mistake: China is already Africa’s biggest economic partner.”
The growth can be attributed to Chinese firms’ dominance in Africa’s manufacturing, resources and infrastructure sectors and their expansion into five new sectors: agricultural, banking and insurance, housing, technology and telecommunications, and transport and logistics, the consulting company said in the report, titled Dance of the Lions and Dragons.
