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China's Indispensable Role in Africa's Railway Renaissance

50 min • 1 september 2023

Over the past 20 years, tens of thousands of kilometers of new railway lines have been built across Africa - much of it constructed and financed by China. But the days when Beijing paid big bucks to build these kinds of large-scale infrastructure projects in Africa have come to an end.

Today, China's development priorities on the continent are focused more on fostering industrialization and building smaller, greener projects mostly in the energy and telecommunications sectors. But even without the Chinese, a number of African governments are moving forward with ambitious plans to build vast regional rail networks.

Tim Zajontz, a lecturer in international relations at the University of Dresden, and Mandira Bagwandeen, a senior researcher at the University of Cape Town, join Eric & Cobus to discuss their new book on Africa's railway renaissance and China's indispensable role.

SHOW NOTES:

Amazon: Africa’s Railway Renaissance: The Role and Impact of China by Tim Zajontz, Pádraig Carmody, Mandira Bagwandeen, Anthony Leysens: https://amzn.to/45z0McL
The China-Global South Project: An Unforgettable Journey on East Africa’s Chinese-Built Railways, Old and New by Zhang Haotian: https://bit.ly/3YBRESd

JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @tzajontz

LinkedIn:

Tim Zajontz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-zajontz-phd-a27749121/
Mandira Bagwandeen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandira-bagwandeen-07422328/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

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