\u201cYou don\u2019t negotiate with China !\u201d I was quickly told when I started interviewing African public servants about their infrastructure deals with Beijing. There is a widespread view in Africa that you accept whatever terms are offered, for fear that the money might go somewhere else instead.<\/p>\n
China is\u00a0the leading<\/a>\u00a0infrastructure finance provider on the continent \u2013 as demonstrated by a recent\u00a0pledge<\/a>\u00a0of US$60 billion (\u00a347 billion), most of which is for infrastructure projects. Big\u00a0projects<\/a>\u00a0on the slate\u00a0include<\/a>\u00a0hydropower plants in Angola and Guinea, an oil refinery in Nigeria, and a new city in Egypt.<\/p>\n Yet, when you look closely at what happens on the ground, some African countries are much better at negotiating with the Chinese than others. Railway projects in East Africa appear to be a good example. In Kenya, the Standard Gauge Railway is the largest infrastructure project since independence from Britain in 1963. China Eximbank\u00a0provided<\/a>most of the finance for the first phase \u2013 472 kilometres of track between Nairobi and Mombasa \u2013 at a cost of US$3.2 billion.<\/p>\n In neighbouring Ethiopia, an electric train line from Addis Ababa to Djibouti, which is also\u00a0Chinese-financed<\/a>, opened two years ago. The cost for this more expensive type of railway was US$3.4 billion \u2013 for 756 kilometres. Kenya\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that its railway cost more for reasons like the terrain and the need to carry higher volumes of cargo. At the same time, however, many believe other issues to have been at play \u2013 including failures around the negotiation process.<\/p>\n My\u00a0ongoing<\/a>\u00a0research into China funded infrastructure projects\u00a0is confirming<\/a>\u00a0that African governments can learn from best practice in this area. The best deals depend on the following four conditions being met.<\/p>\n The process in Chinese deal-making tends to go like this: Beijing will begin by making financial pledges, often aimed at a number of countries; these are followed by meetings at state level between a Chinese delegation and the African head of state and their senior officials. Infrastructure projects under discussion have often already been passed over by Western donors.<\/p>\n Once a project is broadly agreed, the relevant Chinese contractors, mostly state owned enterprises, will typically contact African civil servants in the relevant branches of government to get detailed negotiations underway \u2013 with support from the Chinese trade mission and local embassy. Topics to be discussed will include costs, but also the use of materials and workers; technology transfer; and the effect of national regulations in areas like labour, construction and the environment.<\/p>\n Read more on The Conversation<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cYou don\u2019t negotiate with China !\u201d I was quickly told when I started interviewing African public servants about their infrastructure deals with Beijing. There is a widespread view in Africa that you accept whatever terms are offered, for fear that … Continue reading 1. Involve everyone<\/h2>\n