The Heat: China, US play increasing role in Africa

The Heat

With both China and the United States ratcheting up their investments in Africa, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta welcomes U.S. President Barack Obama.

It was a bit of a homecoming for Obama, returning to the birthplace of his father; or as he put it: returning “as the first Kenyan-American President of the United States.” Family ties aside, there were serious political and policy issues to discuss. According to the World Bank, while not without its challenges, Kenya is emerging as one of Africa’s key growth centers.

Kenya is poised to become one of the fastest growing economies in East Africa. Such progress is, in part, due to investments in infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and other industries. Investments that come largely from the world’s two economic superpowers: China and the United States.

While both countries downplay any competition, much is at stake. CCTV America’s Jessica Stone filed this report from Washington.

The Heat welcomed the following guests:

  • He Wenping, from Beijing, is the director of African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of West-Asian and African Studies
  • Robin Sanders is the former U.S. Ambassador to the Congo and Nigeria. She currently heads the Feeds Advocacy Initiative, focusing on economic development and business strategies in Africa.
  • Costantinos Berhutesfa, from Ethiopia, is a professor of public policy at Addis Ababa University.

These 5 things about Ethiopia may surprise you

U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic Africa trip this week ended with a stop in Ethiopia, where economic growth has grown by leaps and bounds. We break out some of the key statistics below, comparing Ethiopia to Kenya (the other country Obama visited during this trip), and to the sub-Saharan Africa region as a whole.

1. From 1999 to 2006 — the most recent data available — the rate of children in school has almost doubled in Ethiopia.(2012 is the most recent figure for Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa.)

2. Ethiopia has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, according to the IMF. It’s estimated to grow 9.5 percent in 2015 and 10.5 percent in 2016.

3. Between 2000-2012, the average life expectancy across sub-Saharan Africa increased by 6 years — from 50.2 to 56.4. In Ethiopia, it increased by more than a decade: 52.2 to 62.9 years.

4. Living on less than $1.25 is the line used to mark extreme poverty by the World Bank and the IMF. Between 1995-2010, the percent of Ethiopia’s population living in extreme poverty was cut almost in half. Looking at the most recent data available, the average across sub-Saharan Africa also fell, while Kenya’s increased.

5. Ethiopia has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Africa. In 2013, the average rate was two percentage points below sub-Saharan Africa and 3.5 below Kenya’s.

Data: World Bank. Sub-Saharan Africa includes developing countries only.