Can Chinese investment lower poverty in Africa?

Over the past 30 years, worldwide poverty has fallen sharply from about 40 percent to below 20 percent, though this decline has barely been felt in Africa.

African countries have not had a substantial reduction in their poverty levels, though massive Chinese investments around the continent are working to change that.

The Chinese government and various private Chinese companies have funded a variety of infrastructure projects around Africa, providing numerous employment opportunities to locals.

Some of the projects that China has initiated in Africa include Tanzania’s Bagamoyo Port, which will become Africa’s largest port capable of handling 20 million containers per year, South Africa’s new Modderfontein City, Nigeria’s Lagos-Calabar coastal railway and Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway, among many more.

Earlier this week, CGTN’s Li Dongning caught up with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat in Ethiopia to discuss the effects of Chinese projects.

She started by asking him about which areas he believes are most in need of Chinese investment.

(CGTN)