The Heat: China’s growing role in Africa

The Heat

The SGR cargo train rides from the port containers depot in Mombasa, Kenya, to Nairobi, Tuesday, May 30, 2017. Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta opened the country’s largest infrastructure project since independence, a Chinese-backed railway costing nearly $3.3 billion that eventually will link a large part of East Africa to a major port on the Indian Ocean as China seeks to increase trade and influence. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)
Published June 7, 2017 at 5:43 PM
Updated June 7, 2017 at 5:45 PM

Kenya has celebrated a historic first in its partnership with China. With the launch of the multi-billion dollar Mombasa railway project, Kenya has linked its capital, Nairobi, to its largest port city, Mombasa. The infrastructure project was financed and built by China and is the largest since Kenya’s independence.

For more, CGTN’s Wu Haojun has this report.

The railway project’s launch is the completion of the first phase of development. The second phase is already underway and hopes to link Mombasa to the border of Uganda, and eventually beyond.

To discuss the Mombasa railway project and China’s investment in Africa:

  • Aly-Khan Satchu, an economist and CEO of the East African financial company, Rich Management.
  • Chen Chenchen, deputy director for the department of macroeconomics at Renmin University of China.
  • Adetunji Omotola, an analyst in Pan-African affairs, focusing on business development.
  • Yun Sun, a senior associate in the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center.

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