Is Africa undercutting its sovereignty with China’s debt-trap diplomacy?
China’s relations with Africa have been associated with debt-trap diplomacy. Despite the fact that countries have defaulted on their loans leading to the economic crisis, African states remain welcoming China and continue to sign agreements with China to deliver mega infrastructure projects in addition to strategic security support.
Another term that relates to Sino-Africa relations is the string of pearls, a geopolitical theory first posited by US researchers in 2004, which refers to the commercial and military infrastructures built on maritime ports. The string is the sealine of communication between these pearls that flows from mainland China all the way to the Horn of Africa in Port Sudan.
There is concern that the continent’s relationship with China is undercutting Africa’s sovereignty, however, it could be argued that its sovereignty was already undercut by colonialism, it is therefore imperative that Africans do what it takes to protect its independence for the next 100 years.