Senior banker downplays Africa’s reliance on China

Concern about the abundance of Chinese lending to African nations is overblown, and the country is a good development partner for the world’s poorest continent. That’s the view of Akinwumi Adesina, the head of the African Development Bank. ‘Africa should not be afraid of China, it's a very good learning experience for Africa, lifting 400m people out of poverty,’ Adesina said. He added that ‘African countries are mature enough to negotiate with China about their needs, which is to close infrastructure gaps’. A report on the Fin24 site notes that China this year surpassed the US and former colonial powers in Europe as the biggest source of funding to African nations. Critics have warned against African countries becoming over-indebted or swapping future output of commodities in exchange for funds on overly favourable terms.