The Chinese government has suspended funding for energy projects in Africa as rising risks of debt distress among several African countries and Beijing’s internal economic challenges push lending to the continent to below $1 billion, the lowest in about 20 years.
Beijing’s shift in its lending policy towards Africa has been bolstered by President Xi Jinping’s determination towards ‘greening’ his massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and supporting small scale projects (with values under $50 million) which are economically feasible, with more beneficial social and environmental impacts.
