China ‘winning lion’s share’ of construction projects in Africa, study finds
- US and European firms won 85 per cent of infrastructure contracts back in 1990, according to Hinrich Foundation report
- But that has changed since Beijing made a strategic pivot to the continent and launched the Belt and Road Initiative
In the 1990s, about eight out of 10 contracts to build infrastructure in Africa were won by Western companies.
That started to change when China made an aggressive push into the continent, with a “going out” strategy that encouraged Chinese companies to venture overseas in search of markets and raw materials.
Now, the tables have turned. Chinese companies accounted for 31 per cent of African infrastructure contracts valued at US$50 million or more in 2022, compared with 12 per cent for Western firms, the study on Africa’s growing clout in global trade and geopolitics found.
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“This is a big change from 1990, when US and European companies won 85 per cent of African construction contracts,” according to the study conducted by Keith Rockwell, a senior research fellow and former World Trade Organization director.
